A Veela Dream
by haldd
Summary: Cecily Ravn had been hiding in Grimmauld Place during her seventh year. Now that the war is over, she is going back for her seventh year to take her NEWTs. Only to be kidnapped by one certain blonde Slytherin. Veela!Draco Mate!OC
1. Chapter 1

Cecily Ravn was probably having the worst journey on her way to Hogwarts. After the war, at Headmistress McGonagall's request, she was going back to Hogwarts to finish her education. Although she had a family business waiting for her to head, she wanted to take her NEWTs and also spend a silent, normal and innocuous year at school. This was what she needed after the war, to relax for at least a year.

Until her fourth year, school was quite eventless for her. But with the rise of Voldemort, her life began to fall apart piece by piece. Her father and uncle had been death eaters since before the First War and they gladly followed their master for the second one. By the time she was a sixth year student, the rumour was heard that Draco Malfoy was accepted to the inner circle. This caused a thunderstorm in the Ravn Manor. As Cecily was the same age as Draco Malfoy, it was decided she prove herself worthy of such honour. This was the last drop. Cecily, a girl raised by two death eaters, had never had any intentions of joining the Dark Side and setting muggles on fire while dancing and shouting "Hail Dark Lord". She was very much fed up with this blood supremacy rubbish and she only wanted to be as far away from it as possible. But as long as she was a part of the Ravn family, she had no choice but to submit to the Dark Lord.

So she decided she had to act before the hurricane swallowed her, and she asked the famous golden boy Harry Potter to help her. Their paths had never crossed before and even though Harry was suspicious of her sudden request, he agreed to help her by finding her a hiding place. With the approval of Mad-Eye Moody, she was settled in the Grimmauld Place, on the condition that she was to fight for the light when the time came. Of course, such condition was never needed as she had every intention of being an active member of the light side.

And now the war was over, her uncle was imprisoned for life and his only son was dead. Cecily's father was far too sick that he didn't even take part in the Battle. Therefore, Cecily was once again regarded as family by the Ravns. They needed someone to represent the family in public and as most of their customers were either in Azkaban or dead. They needed a new approach in the business. And what better approach than showing the remaining of society they had no problems with the light side anymore? So Cecily was the key for the family to find a new market for the company, thereby, taken back. And she only went back to her family to make a fresh start with the family name. With her uncle gone and her father sick, she would have more control over the issues. From now on, the Ravn name would rise amongst the supporters of the light.

But what made her journey worst ever had nothing to do with the war. There, she was eating her lunch in absolute silence and peace, watching the never-ending fields slide by her eyes, then a rather raving Draco Malfoy barged in her compartment. Normally, she would never be afraid of the one and only amazing bouncing ferret. But at that moment, Malfoy could only be identified with one word: Terrifying. He was breathless as if he had been running and his face was somehow paler. His nails were sharp, long and black, looking as if he had claws instead of nails. He was shaking uncontrollably and murmuring to himself. All Cecily could make out was something like "mate" or "mine".

He was standing by the compartment door, steadying himself with one hand hanging on the thin wall. His normally perfectly combed hair was a mess and he looked like he was going to be sick. But what gave Cecily the impression that she should have been scared was his now black eyes. She never knew Malfoy in person but she was sure his eyes were never black, and never looked at her with such madness. Although he was in a trance like state, she tried her chance by calling for him.

"Malfoy?"

There was no answer, not even a reaction. She hesitantly got up from her seat, careful not to move too fast, and then took a step back to the window, as far from the likely assailant as possible. But Malfoy didn't even budge. He was watching her every move while sniffing the air as if he was trailing something. As Cecily attempted to reach her wand, Malfoys eyes once again followed her. Understanding she was about to use her wand to block him, he raced up to Cecily and grabbed both her hands and steadied them on both sides of her body. Then a roar like voice filled the compartment.

"You will not run away from me!"

She let out a whimper at the harsh treatment she was getting and as she decided her wand was of no use she started to scream for help. But before her cries could reach someone she felt Malfoy put her up in the air and the next thing she knew she was being thrown out of the window.

She covered her eyes with her arms as she screamed her lungs out. The first thing she thought was that she was going to die. She was falling down from above a bridge, for Merlin's sakes! She had no chance of survival! And she still had so much to do with her life. It couldn't end like this!

And then she realized she wasn't falling at all. She was only floating in the air. She could feel the cold Scottish wind caressing her body with gentle strokes. But why wasn't she falling? Hesitantly she uncovered her eyes and as she did so she faced one of the scariest yet most magnificent sights she had ever seen. Malfoy was cradling her in his arms, his black orbs looking straight ahead, with two pompous wings hanging on his back, fluttering. What the hell happened to him? Was this even Malfoy? Where was he taking her? Merlin, what was he going to do to her?

She was too scared to do anything as she stared at his firm expression. Whatever he was going to do, he was determined to do it. She didn't know if he could understand her but still she had to try to make him snap back to himself. If, this was Malfoy himself, that is.

"Malfoy? Where are we going?"

Again, he didn't seem to be hearing her. She tried again with a less shaky voice. "Malfoy? Please… Where are you taking me?" Still, no reaction. "For Merlin's sakes, Malfoy! Do you hear me? Where. Are. We. Going!?" With her last attempt gaining no answer, she decided to try something else. She was going to get his attention one way or another. Maybe she could convince him to go back? They couldn't be that far from the train so they could still go back. She freed her arm from under his grasp and reached up to touch his face. When her fingers collided with his chin, he turned to look down at her with a sharp movement. His expression was slightly softer this time, his eyes searching for something on her face. With the encouragement of their new contact, she spoke again, now with an even more confident tone.

"Please, stop. We need to go back."

His wings slowed down their fluttering and Cecily felt the wind flow in a softer manner on her face. Malfoy's hold tightened around her as he lowered his face, getting closer to her neckline. He buried his nose in her neck and took one deep breath. A voice that could almost be described as a purr left his throat. Whatever the hell he was doing, he was clearly enjoying it. Cecily, on the other hand, was not. She was scared out of her mind. She couldn't read his motives and this new assault was even more alarming than being thrown out from a window of a moving train on a bridge. All she did was starting to shake even more and ignoring reality by closing her eyes once again. Unfortunately, a set of sharp teeth contacting her skin was too much to ignore. She let out a scream and tried to wiggle out of his hold, forgetting they were still in the air. And with that foolish act, she found herself sinking further and further towards the ground with a great speed. And this time she was actually, falling, no Malfoy to do whatever it was he was doing.

Once again, at the moment she was convinced that death was unavoidable, solid arms embraced her. She unconsciously wrapped her arms around Malfoy's neck, burying her face in his chest. They hung in the air, holding each other until Malfoy's harsh voice reached her ears.

"Are you fucking out of your mind? What the fuck was that? Do you have a goddamn death wish?"

This brought her senses back. For a moment, she had forgotten this situation was entirely his fault and hung on to him as a lifeline. Now that she was aware of the fact, and as he seemed more conscious, she was furious beyond reason. She started to push him as away from her body as she can manage without dealing with a life-death situation once more and started to yell.

"Am I out of my mind, Malfoy? Am I? At this point, I might have gone bonkers! You idiot! Get me back on solid ground this instant or I swear to Merlin I will jump back!"

A smirk sprout from his face as he murmured something like "As if I would let you again". He started to lower and at last they were back on the ground. But, he didn't seem like he had any intention of putting her on her feet. They shared a moment of awkward glance and she raised her hands in the air. "Well? Put me down!"

Malfoy shook his head. "No. You will run away." He said with a solid expression. She looked around at the nothingness that surrounded them. "Run where?" she asked, extremely annoyed by him by now. But at least he wasn't in a lethal trance anymore and she could get him to do something. Malfoy glanced around like she did and decided she had nowhere to run. He gently put her on the green grass and held her for a few moments so she could gain her balance. Once he was sure she could stand on her own, he removed his arms from around her reluctantly.

To be honest, he didn't know what just happened more than she did. One moment he was on the train looking for Blaise, the second he was tracing a scent like a mad dog. His mother had warned him of his Veela instincts on his eighteenth birthday in summer when she explained him that he was a veela and he would be going through some changes. But this was not something he thought he would experience. He knew he would have a mate and he would have to find and claim her before his nineteenth birthday. He also knew that her scent would affect him immensely. But, come on! He had actually attacked her! How could he convince her to be his mate now? She looked like she was about to skin him alive. But hell, didn't she look edible with those fierce eyes! And this sexy little creature was his mate. His only, for the rest of their lives. Of course, if she agrees to be.

"What the hell were you thinking jumping of the goddamn train? Are you mad? We could have died! I didn't survive a war to die because you lost your marbles! What the hell was that? And most importantly, what the hell are you? You… You have wings! And I am almost sure I see a set of fangs there! .hell. You… I fell… We… Explain dammit!" By the time her tantrum was over she was too angry to make meaningful sentences. She was hitting his chest like a mad woman but she was certain the only damage was made to her hands. But Malfoy, on the other side, looked highly amused by her temper. Her fierceness was so inviting. Her face WAS all flushed with anger burning with so much passion that he could not stop himself. "For Merlin's sake wipe that smug grin off of your face or I'll do it for-"

Her second round was cut out by a pair of soft lips crushing down on hers. Before she acknowledged what was going on she was pulled towards Malfoy and his arms were once again holding her. She attempted to get away from him but she only ended up even closer. His lips were moving softly on hers. He was sucking on her bottom lip as if he was savouring it. As the kiss grew more passionate and demanding, an irresistible scent hit her. Her stomach felt like fireworks were being set. And suddenly she found herself responding. Something in the air made all her worries disappear, and now she was lost in Malfoy's touch. He was gently stroking her back with one hand, the other on her neck, holding her face in place. Then his kisses found their way down to her neck and that was when Cecily remembered she needed air.

Somewhere in the back of her mind a little voice was telling her she had something to worry about. Bu she couldn't remember, and she didn't care. All she wanted was Malfoy, his touch, his kisses, his body. She wanted all of him. She needed him. She couldn't keep herself from moaning loudly as his hand went down to her hips, squeezing harshly. His mouth was enjoying the taste of her flesh.

Draco was filled with such joy, he couldn't think straight. If he could, he would be aware of the fact that his mate was consent only because she was inhaling his bonding scent. This was what made her want him but at this point, he couldn't bring himself to stop. Her scent was so sweet and her touch was so precious he just couldn't be close enough to her. He was full of such lust for his mate that it urged him to mark her. No man could touch her like this. She was his and his alone. He had to prove that. He had to claim her. So he sank his teeth on her neck, sending her over the edge with pleasure.

Cecily was so aroused by this point, she only wanted release. She didn't care the slight pain of his bite as she trembled under his touch with euphoria. She held onto him, pushing her body against his as much as possible. Her voice screaming his name echoed in the open fields. That was all that took him to pull her down with himself, laying on the grass. He was on top of her, licking the wound he just caused on her neck. A mark of his fangs was slightly visible and it was the most satisfactory thing that he had ever seen. His mark on his mate. She was hers now.

Under his sudden halt, Cecily was shaking with want. Her hands were on his back now and she was pulling him down. "Malfoy, please… More… Please…" All she could think was having him close. Him touching her, kissing her, taking her. She was out of her mind with desire. And he was more than ready to give her that. He started to kiss her again with even more hunger. His hand cupped her breast over her clothes and suddenly he started to unbutton her shirt. She was in her school robes and there was too much clothing to be ripped off. As he got her out of her robes and shirt, she started to do the same thing for him, their lips never separating.

Once they were naked except for their underwear, he unclasped her bra and started sucking and kissing her breasts. She was moaning his name, begging for more. Her hands travelled on his chest and down to his boxers. She touched his growing length and he let out a whimper, shaking. She was fondling him softly with her hand until she heard him whisper in her ear. "Touch me." She hadn't even realised he was touching him. This was the first time she had gone this far with a boy and she had no idea what she was doing. But she was not anxious at all. She knew she gave him the same pleasure he gave her.

As Cecily's hand reached under his boxers, she started to stroke him gently. He whispered once again. "Hold it firmly, sweetheart. Oh, yes, just like that…"

While she played with him, she felt his hand slide down her knickers and cupped her slit. She arched her back with pleasure. His hand was moving tenderly on her leaking core, moving in circles around her clit. She just could not take it anymore. She needed him.

"Please, Malfoy. I need you. Please…" As if he had been waiting for her to ask for it, he removed their remaining clothes at once. He positioned himself on her entrance and kissed her once more. When they locked eyes, he saw her eyes burn with desire. "Tell me you're mine." He said firmly.

"Yes, yes, yours! I'm yours! Please…" She was begging him to give her what she wanted, and he just did that. He slid inside her with one stern thrust. She let out a scream in pain as her hymen broke. He wasn't moving, only planting soft kisses on her neckline while she sank her fingers on his back. When her muscles adopted his length, he started to move, making her gasp for breath. "Merlin!" His pace quickened and before long they were both panting. She was so lost in ecstasy that she was just babbling meaningless line of words. He, on the other hand, was overwhelmed by his possessive veela. He was licking and kissing her neck again, and the idea of tasting her again was tempting as hell. Without thought, he bit into her neck, once again sending her over the edge. With her walls clamping around him, he came with one last thrust and fell on top of her, gasping for breath.

He kissed her for one last time then rolled off of her but still keeping her in his arms. She was now resting her head on his chest and he was caressing her back with his hand. He was sure that there was no happier man in the world at the moment than himself. He could never imagine claiming his mate would be so easy.

And of course, it wasn't as easy as it seemed. Cecily was finally coming back to her senses, with the aid of now non-existent pheromones. Oh Dear Merlin, what had she done! She had sex with Draco goddamn Malfoy! She gasped loudly with the realization. She couldn't talk, she couldn't move, she couldn't do anything! Well, she could very well move but she was naked and with a clear head she decided she had no wish to be seen by Malfoy. And she couldn't talk because what could she say, really? It wasn't like he forced her. She wanted this. Whatever made her want this was a mystery to her. And what was his intentions if not this when he brought –wait, kidnapped her? Merlin! How could she forget he was some kind of monster? With wings! And fangs! He had bitten her! Oh, Merlin, was she going to turn into some freak?

Draco must have noticed her silence was bad news, he propped himself up on his elbow, moving her with him until she was facing him. Cecily was positive she was red from head to toe from being exposed to his eyes. While she blushed furiously, Draco was studying her face. "What is it? What's bothering you?" he asked warmheartedly. As if waiting for a send-off, Cecily started to sob uncontrollably. Draco felt his heart break in two. Never in his life had he thought the sight of a crying woman could hurt him so much. And to think it was probably his fault was absolute misery. He held her again against his chest and tried to calm her with soothing words.

"Shh… It's okay, love. It's okay. You don't need to feel bad. I'm here with you. There's nothing wrong. You're safe. I promise you nothing can hurt you. I won't let anything hurt you I swear. Shh…" Just as her sobs were quietening, he said something that transformed her sadness into pure anger. "I love you and I will never leave you. I promi-"

"Love me? Love me, Malfoy? What? You know, this is complete and utter bullshit!" She was furious with him. She was so angry that she forgot her naked state and all her embarrassment flew away in the open fields. "This is the best lie you can make up?"

"It isn't a lie-"

"BULL-SHIT! What is my name, Malfoy?" How dare he take her for some fool? Did he really think she would believe her?

"I… I… Okay, look-"

"What the hell is my name?"

"I don't know! But I d-"

"Exactly! You don't even know my name! And yet you just went and told me you love me! How stupid do you think I am?"

Draco was quite upset about her behaviour but at the same time he understood why she was acting this way. Fucking pheromones! He didn't even realise he was emitting them! And now, his mate hated him. His life was over. He would live in constant misery. He had to explain her the situation, but how? Merlin, he actually did not know her name! He didn't even see her before at Hogwarts.

"Say something!" Why wasn't he answering? She had to admit he looked devastated right now. But his silence wasn't working for him. "Well, let me introduce myself, then. Cecily Ravn, Ravenclaw here. The same year as you. Once in our second year you threw a rat at my face which was quite dead. I even came to your house, you idiot! Merlin knows how many times! And you don't even remember that! I can see you are very much in love with me!"

With that she accioed her clothes from around them and started to get dressed. Malfoy could only find the strength to put on his pants. He was just appalled. She came to his house? When?! He would surely remember her if she did! Merlin how could he not remember her? Cecily Ravn… Ravn? And it came to him in a flash. He remembered that their fathers had a few business contracts. And he remembered seeing her dancing with Blaise at his mother's Christmas Ball. After a mental note to himself that said "Kill Blaise, preferably slowly and painfully", he turned back to Cecily, who was now fully dressed and straightening her robes.

"Cecily, I'm sorry. If you let me explain, you will see that I was honest with you."

She was holding her wand in her hand preparing to use it.

"Save it."

And with that, she aparated to the first place that came to her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Why she had thought of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, she had no idea. But she was glad she apparated somewhere so close to school. Having enough problem for one day, all she wanted to do was both going back to Hogwarts and never going back there. She would have to see Malfoy and she honestly had no idea what to do. First of all, Malfoy attacked her and she didn't know what to think of it. Somehow he seemed to be protecting her. He jumped out of a train with her but she had no injuries although she went through glass. She remembered covering her face with her arms but shouldn't her arms or at least hands have been injured? She was perfectly fine. Well, at least she was physically well. Then when she was actually falling, he caught her and even got angry with her for putting herself in danger. Cecily could no longer analyse the information. Therefore, she switched to another matter.

What had happened to Malfoy? Was he a danger to the other students? He had enormous white wings and claw-like black nails. Her pupils were pitch-black and he had sharp fangs. Those features couldn't be good. And he actually bit her! Twice! What did that mean? Was she going to turn into some creature like him? And why did the bite feel so good? If it was a bad thing, why would it feel so damn good? And then she practically begged him to… Oh Merlin, how could she ever face him?

And this was how George Weasley found her; deep in thought and silently weeping. She was hiding behind boxes in the back of the shop. "Cicy? Are you okay? Why aren't you at school?" He rushed towards her and embraced her in a hug immediately. Her sobs got louder as she clinged on to him. "Hey, come on. What happened?" George asked softly. During her stay at the Grimmauld Place, she had spent lots of time with the Weasley twins. And she was devastated with Fred's death. She couldn't even imagine how George must have been feeling.

She didn't know if she should tell George about it. But she had to talk to someone. She was unable to settle the matter by herself. A second opinion wouldn't hurt.

"I… I don't even know where to start!" As she tried to explain the events of the day, a conversant expression covered George's face. But when she came to the part that involved lots of pheromones, his face suddenly toughened. He stood up from his seat and got his hands through his hair.

"Cecily… How could you allow such thing?"

"I don't know!" she shrieked. Tears were once more forming in her eyes.

"Okay, it's not your fault. You couldn't possibly know." His face got softer and now it contained a sprinkle of pity. "Look, I know what Malfoy is. But, I warn you, you won't like what you hear." She could only nod to imply him it was okay. "You remember Bill's wife, Fleur? Well, she is a part veela. Do you know what they are?"

"Well, some DADA professor told us about it at some point but I can't really recall."

With a deep breath, George continued. "Veela are, um… They are… sexual creatures. They have a mate they must claim in one year upwards their transformation. And their transformation starts with the age of eighteen. The wings, fangs and claws come out when the Veela is angered, when his/her mate is in danger. But obviously you weren't in danger on the train. Maybe he was angry about something already? I'm not really an expert, you know. I just know some stuff Fleur told us."

By the time George finished her speech, Cecily was drowning in her thoughts. It didn't take a genius to figure out if Malfoy indeed was a veela, then she was his mate, which was the reason why he called her his. And his bite must have be the marking. Wait, if it was the marking, did that mean she had no way out of this?

"Please tell me veela don't bite to claim their mate."

"I honestly have no idea. Like I said, I never made any research."

Cecily thought for a second, and decided it was best if she went back to Hogwarts. The sun was about to set and she didn't think she could find her way from Hogsmeade in the dark. "I should get going. It's getting late. I am sure McGonagall has had kittens by now." George burst into laugh with the last comment but Cecily didn't appear to catch the joke. Then she realised what made him laugh like a mad men and joined him with a loud laughter. As they laughed like crazy Cornish Pixies, Cecily gave George one last hug. "Thank you so much. I don't know what I would do if I didn't come here. But murder is somewhere on top of that list."

"I'm glad if I can help. And if by any chance you decide on murdering Malfoy, I would be honoured to help."

"I don't doubt it. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She said while walking towards the doors with George right behind her.

"I'll owl Fleur and ask for more information. You could come by next weekend and we'd discuss it. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Thank you George. I mean it." She told him while giving him a peck on the cheek. He responded with a warm smile.

"No problem."

When she left the shop, she turned her steps towards the path towards Hogwarts. The sky was getting darker and darker every minute. If she wanted to reach Hogwarts before the pitch-dark night, she had to walk as fast as she could. This was the kind of time that she cursed Hogwarts's anti-apparition wards. Now she had to walk through trees and bushes and Merlin knows what other things. Abruptly, she started to feel a little scared. She never had to walk this road alone and in the dark. But she built up her courage, held her wand firmly in her hand and quickened her steps.

Before long, she felt more relaxed as she got accustomed to the sparse woods. The wind had gotten rougher as time passed and she started to slightly shiver. Further she reached amongst the trees, the less assured she was about knowing the way. Then she came to a sudden halt to study her surroundings and figure out which she had to go. At that moment, the forest resounded with a calm voice.

"You're on the wrong way."

Out of the sudden voice, she took a sharp breath and turned around. Than the owner of the soft voice appeared from among the trees. Draco somehow had found some way to follow her, obviously. He looked much more like his old self. His face was calm and there was no inhuman limbs visible. His countenance was almost in misery, pained. As for Cecily, she was befuddled. She wasn't scared, per se. Only taken aback. He was the last person she expected to see. How did he even find her?

"How did you find me?" she repeated her thought out loud. He was approaching her slowly as if he was afraid of scaring her. "I figured you would come to Hogsmeade as it's the closest place you can apparate around school grounds. Then I followed your sce- Then I found you."

He didn't want to tell her he followed her scent to locate her. He was still anxious about creeping her out. The truth was, she felt no more fear. At this point, she only wanted to find the way to Hogwarts, and sleep the day away. She was tired, cold and confused. "Do you know the way?" she asked matter-of-factly. He answered with a silent nod. "Well, lead the way." was all she said.

They walked in silence for a while, ignoring the elephant jogging in the woods. Draco was a few steps ahead at all times, glancing back every once in a while. The sun was replaced by the moon now, and the silhouette of Hogwarts was standing in front of them. Throughout the journey Draco was trying to find a way to start a conversation, to tell her how sorry he was, to explain her. But as they got closer to the castle, he grew hectic. He wanted to talk to her before they got to Hogwarts but his time was running out. Thus, he chose the easy and simple way.

"Cecily," he said turning back, gaining her attention. "There is something we should talk and we shouldn't avoid it any longer. It is best if we had talked before we reached the castle. I have a lot to explain."

Cecily sized her options for a minute. Then she decided it was best if they talked. "Go on."

"Look, what happened on the train… I didn't mean to… do that. It just, sort of, happened. I wasn't even looking for you, I was looking for Blaise. Then I…" What was the best way to say this? She had already seen his veela form, all he had to do was say it plainly at once. But she preceded.

"Am I your mate?"

Draco's lungs screamed for air as he forgot to breathe for a minute. He wasn't expecting her to find it out on her own. All he could air was a weak "yes".

"Are we… W-What we did… Are we now-"

"Bonded?" Draco cut her stammering. He continued when she gave a nod. "Yes." He took a deep breath. "Again, I didn't plan this. But when I smelled your scent, I just couldn't help it. It was euphoric. Like wisteria or like acacia. I've never felt something so beautiful, I felt like I had to find it. I had to have it." By this time he was merely aware of what he was saying. He was gradually getting closer to her now. Cecily didn't even react. She wasn't paying him any attention. She was lost. She had to spend the rest of her life with him. And she had no way out! No! She would find a way. She could search and find a solution. It couldn't end like this!

"Please believe me. I wasn't prepared for your scent, it took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting it."

"Is it why you can control yourself now? Because you know what to expect?" She asked in a curious tone. This was good. Draco would definitely prefer curious over ignorant and dismissive.

"Yes, that is why."

Cecily once again took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Can we start walking again now? It's getting really cold and I am too tired to have this conversation right now." She did feel and look exhausted. Draco examined her state for a second and raised an eyebrow. "I know a way we can go to the castle much faster but I don't think you'll like it." He knew he was pushing his luck but she was truly tired and all he wanted to do was make sure she was well and comfortable.

"Which is?" asked Cecily with even more curiosity. She was imagining a secret passageway or maybe an underground tunnel. But what she got had nothing to do with odd paths. Because in order to answer her question, Draco released his wings and fluttered them a few times. Now that was unexpected. She doubted this was the best way to go. And she didn't even know whether Malfoy's mood had anything to do with his transformation. One glance wards his face showed he wasn't in any kind of trance, he was very much aware and apparently very much sorry as well. Sorry because she was frightened of him. Of course, this was only true to a level. Was she afraid? Yes. Was she frightened? Definitely not.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Cecily, her voice was shakier than she had planned. Damn those nerves!

"Yes, it's not dangerous when you don't jump." He joked to lighten the mood. It looked like the joke worked because a small smiled formed on Cecily's face.

"Well, I don't think I'll jump. Fall, maybe. But jump, Merlin I'm too tired to move!"

"I would never let you fall." was the last thing he said before picking her up in his arms and flying towards the castle. She buried her face in the crook of his neck unconsciously and wrapped her arms around him. This was as good as he could hope, Draco thought. Now all he had to do was make himself forgiven.


	3. Chapter 3

When they reached the castle, Cecily was asleep. Who would have thought Malfoy's arms would be so comfortable? As they landed back on the ground, Draco shook her gently to wake her up. But all she did was snuggle more into his chest with a hoarse grumbling. He looked down at her face with an enormous smile. It was beautiful to see her depending on him, needing him. Although she wasn't doing anything consciously, Draco could feel his insides getting warmer. He decided carrying her inside instead of waking her worked for both their favours. She could get a little bit more rest and he could keep her close just for a few more minutes. He would walk faster without her tiny legs trying to catch up with him, anyway.

As he stepped in the castle to the Entrance Hall, a very stern looking Headmistress "welcomed" him. She was eyeing the sleeping girl in his arms with fright engraved on her features. He was walking towards her, up the stairs, very slowly. That was all he needed right now. The headmistress suspecting a former death eater of the disappearance of a girl. Well, he was very well guilty but he was also hoping this could stay between Cecily and him. He didn't want McGonagall to get meddled in. So, was he going to tell her the truth or was he just going to make up a lie and hope Cecily would play along when asked? He decided neither was the solution so he shook Cecily one more time and with more force.

"Cecily, you have to wake up, love. Our dear headmistress is probably expecting an explanation."

She opened her eyes slowly, first looking at the simpering face of Malfoy. And she felt like smacking it. Couldn't he just make up some excuse and let her get her sleep? But of course, he didn't know how cranky she'd get when she was sleepy. But he would learn soon about her sleeping habits and she wasn't in a hurry as long as he would let her sleep right now. She didn't even realise she was expecting him to learn her sleeping habits. Like she was accepting him. It seemed like lack of sleep was softening her.

Then she turned her eyes to the Headmistress and all her sleepy mood sank in her stomach. She could feel the knots right then. McGonagall looked furious, even for her own standards. And it wasn't a sight Cecily was used to dealing with. She had always been the one to follow the rules and she almost never broke them. Her anxiety was reaching a whole new level. She practically jumped off of his hold and landed on her feet. Then she tried to explain the situation while straightened her clothes.

"Professor McGonagall, ma'am. You must be wondering where we were. But I swear we weren't responsible for our late arrival." Good start, Cecily. Now think of a lie to save your and Malfoy's butts from detention with Filch. Wait a minute, why was she even saving Malfoy? She truly had nothing to do with this, it was all his fault! But one glance on Malfoy's way was enough to make her go back to plan A. Merlin damn him and his pleading puppy eyes!

"We were on the train and started to quarrel about something. It wasn't really something important. Then I lost my temper and accidentally blew up the compartment. It really was an accident. I didn't mean to do it! It just happened! We fell through the window and Malfoy's quick thinking saved our lives. He cushioned the floor. Then we apparated to Hogsmeade but it was late and we got lost in the dark. The woods were very thick, you see. We could hardly look ahead. We looked for the castle for a while but it took us longer than we thought to find the path to the castle. But we did and came back eventually. We are truly sorry for the disturbance. We deserved all the deduction of points from our houses. We will not complain if you give us detention. I am really sorry for the trouble-"

"Miss Ravn! Enough!" McGonagall interrupted, interpreting Malfoy's thoughts unknowingly. Seriously, if McGonagall didn't stop her, she would probably be on her knees begging for forgiveness by this point. "Do you expect me to believe such a far-fetched story? First of all, the compartment has no proof it was blown up, only a window was broken. And the two of you seem terribly fine if not a little tired. The whole staff is out there, looking for you! You've given us quite the fright! And now you justify yourself with this fairy tale? Mr. Malfoy would be expected, but you? I am quite disappointed! And Mr. Malfoy, you are aware I had no intention of accepting you back to Hogwarts after all you've done if the Ministry didn't force me to. And you go and get in trouble even before you arrived at the school. You've gotten me speechless, you two! You both will attend one week of detention with Mr. Filch and it will be fifty points from each house! Now, off to your dormitories! It's on the seventh floor with the portrait of the sleeping beast as the door. The password is 'wisteria'. And make sure you stop by to explain whatever trouble you've gotten yourself into before classes! Go up, you two! Before I make it seventy points each!"

The journey to their dormitories was quiet until Draco spoke. "I didn't peg you for a teacher's pet." He had a small smile on his lips. He was still thinking about her pleading session with McGonagall. That wasn't a sight he wanted to see. It was almost painful to watch.

While Draco's mood was getting lighter, Cecily was becoming more and more livid. She had ruined her reputation! For something he did! And here he was making fun of her! "Well, I didn't peg you for some freak with claws and everything, running around, kidnapping people but strange things happen, I guess!" That changed Draco's mood drastically. His face turned into a stone wall with no expression. It was obvious what she said hurt him deeply but he was doing everything he can to disguise it.

And although Cecily regretted saying that the moment the words escaped her mouth, it was said. "I'm sorry" she uttered. "I didn't mean it. I'm just cranky because I'm tired. It seems like I can't control my mouth when I'm sleepy."

"Well, it is true. I am a freak, after all. And maybe it's good you can't control what you say. I can learn what it is that you think of me in all honesty."

"Well, you can't expect me to think you fell from heaven after everything that happened today! But still, I shouldn't have said that and I'm sorry." Draco answered with a silent nod. He knew she was right but it still hurt to hear those words from her. He decided it was time he said something that would lighten the mood. She did look distressed.

"So, I threw a rat at you?" he said with a low chuckle. How could he not remember that?

"Yeah. I don't think you were aiming at me, though. There was some boy in front of me but he dodged so the rat just hit my face." She was looking at the floor with a smile on her face. She remembered not being able to remove the stench from her robes for days.

"Wait a minute," Draco stopped chuckling. "It wasn't a rat! It was a toad!"

"No, it wasn't!"

"Yes, Longbottom's toad! And it wasn't dead, mind you." He seemed to enjoy the conversation very much.

Cecily shot him a defying look. "It was a dead rat, I am sure of it! And the kid wasn't Neville, it was some Hufflepuff who rolled on the floor crying after he saw the rat. Also, I think I would remember which dead animal crashed on my face."

"Oh, you mean Thompson's rat! I remember it now!" He burst into laughter just before he finished the sentence. "It's weird because the toad hit someone else, too!"

Cecily was looking at him unbelievably. "How many girls have you thrown dead animals at?"

Draco eyed her flirtingly. "No need to be jealous. You are the prettiest girl I have ever thrown a dead animal at." She rolled her eyes. Where was the damn dormitory? This was one of the times she wished Hogwarts had those elevator things!

Draco didn't mind her silence, at least she wasn't yelling at him. "And for your information, the toad wasn't dead."

"That's beside the point!" She shrieked. He was laughing loudly now. "Right, I'm a carrion throwing arsehole, that's the point. I know." He declared, still laughing his bottom off.

"That's about it." She said, joining him with a loud chuckle.

He was determined to keep her speaking as she seemed to be at ease. It wasn't clear when they would ever have a conversation like this. "I remembered seeing you at the Christmas Ball, dancing with Blaise. And our fathers having boring brunches I had to attend." Cecily tensed with the mention of her father. But Draco didn't seem to notice. "Seriously, how could they endure such torture? I dreamt of jumping off from the highest tower at the manor while they were being all classy and mature."

"It is rather boring, I guess." She murmured. The last thing she wanted to talk about was her father. He was going to be on cloud nine when he heard about how "his little girl" was bound to a Malfoy forever. He was already looking for a suitable husband for her, so this was jackpot for him. Again, he didn't notice her anxious state.

""It was killing me! It was like the air was poisonous and I was walking to my death slowly. It was really painful."

"Like that Hippogriff in third year?" she snapped.

"That bloody chicken! Why does everyone remind me of that?" He said, looking at the ceiling while taking a deep breath.

"Because you were just being a mommy's boy!" Now it was Cecily's turn to burst into laughter. She was chuckling uncontrollably with her hands clenched on her stomach. "It's killed me! It's killed me!" she mimicked his actions from the third year. The truth is, she hadn't even been in that class. But the story reached every single individual in school.

Even though she was mocking him, the sight of her cracked up was splendidly beautiful. Her hair was shaking as if it had come alive, her eyes were watering, and she was doubled up with laughter. After a whole day of frightening the shit out of her and making her cry constantly, this was all he needed. He had made her happy! She was laughing like she had no worries at all! That was the state in which he wanted to keep her. Relaxed, happy and beautiful. From now on, it was his duty to make this mood a constant.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Cecily interrupted his trance.

He frowned, "Like what?"

"Like, dazed or something. You look like you're lost."

"That's because I am lost in your beauty." He said unsurely. He knew it was cheesy as hell but it was the best he could think of right then.

She gave him the 'seriously' look. "That was the worst pick-up line I have ever heard."

"That's because my best pick up line is 'I would never let you fall'." He said with more confidence. This time it was Cecily who looked lost. What the hell was he talking about? Before she could ask, he answered the unspoken question.

"You know, that's what I said before I picked you up in the woods. That's my pick-up line."

Cecily was amazed at how he could start from the ground zero and was somehow still able to go deeper down. How did he even become 'Slytherin Sex God' with these moves?

"Stop talking, please. My ears hurt." He only rolled his eyes at her. Because they were in front of the sleeping beast painting. They shared a glance in each other's way before Draco uttered the password. The portrait door opened slowly and Draco gestured her to proceed. But before she could step inside, two arms flown at her. It was Sophie Barnett. She was Cecily's best friend since they were caught sneaking in the kitchens after curfew and got detention together in second year.

"Sophie!" Cecily tried to yell. She was squeezed in her friend's death grip. "Soph, I can't breathe!" But Sophie didn't appear to have any intentions of letting her go. She kept grumbling things about how scared she was for Cecily. But it didn't last long because a pair of strong arms drew her away from her friend. It was then she realised Cecily wasn't alone.

"Get away from her!" Malfoy roared, thinking the girl was hurting his mate. But before he could act, Cecily grabbed his arm.

"She doesn't mean harm, Malfoy! Stop it!" His gaze wandered on Sophie for a moment before he turned his attention to Cecily.

Not knowing what was happening, Sophie had drawn her wand and was aiming at Draco with shaky hands. Of course, she thought Draco was a treat. "You get away from her, ferret! Or I'll… I'll hex you!"

"Sophie, calm down. He's not going to do anything." Cecily tried to reason with her friend. That was the thing about Sophie. She was easily scared and she'd usually give absurd reactions when she felt scared.

Malfoy was baring his teeth at Sophie and the girl was practically shaking. Before any tears were shed, Cecily stood between them with her arms extended.

"Stop it, you two! No one's hurting anyone! Sophie, go inside. I'll be there in a moment. I need to speak with Malfoy here." Sophie gave her an appalled look. But Cecily didn't let her speak. "No! Go inside, I mean it. He doesn't mean harm."

"Not to you" added Malfoy dangerously. After shooting another look at Cecily, Sophie went back inside the dormitory.

Cecily turned back to Malfoy. "I will never see you do such thing towards my friends again! Is that how you're going to get me to trust you? By attacking my friends? What kind of logic is that?" She was being harsh on purpose. She realized Malfoy needed a firm tone to be convinced not to do something. Right then, he looked extremely annoyed but Cecily was sure he would play along.

"First of all, I saved you from suffocating to death. And second of all, she's the one who attacked me. I never drew my wand." Without giving him another word of reason, Cecily walked towards the open door. Before passing over the threshold, she turned back to him.

"No more problems. I've had enough, as it is!" With that, she proceeded inside the dormitory. Draco was following her silently. When they got into the common room, Draco stood at the entrance, not wanting to have another one of Cecily's friends attack him. She had made it clear that she didn't want any more problems. So he wasn't going to cause one. But Draco wasn't sure if her friends would do the same thing. So this was his attitude now, silent but menacing.

Then he realised it wasn't only her friends that stayed awake. Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass were on the other end of the room, waiting silently on the dim litter corner. They turned their heads towards his direction to see who was causing the fuss, then noticed him. Draco spotted Blaise exhale with relief while Daphne rushed to him, throwing herself in his arms.

"You dumbass! You scared the shit out of us! Are you okay? Where the hell have you been? You didn't get in trouble, right? You know McGonagall is looking for a reason to expel you, you idiot! Tell me you didn't do something stupid! You are-"

"Enough, Daphne!" Blaise cut her blabbering sternly. "He's obviously had enough. Come on mate, let's go in my room. We'll talk about it there."

Draco nodded and Daphne disentangled herself from him. But before they could take their third step, he stopped, turned around and started walking again towards Cecily. She was talking to her two friends, one was Sophie and the other was Luna Lovegood. Draco found her tolerable enough.

When he reached Cecily, she noticed his presence and turned to face him. But before she could even see his face, she felt his lips on her forehead. She could hear the gasps surrounding the room. When he pulled back, he had that known goofy smile on his face. Cecily, on the other hand, was shocked. So was every other student in the room. Draco leaned into her ear, whispering "Good night, love." Before anyone can react, Draco turned around and advanced wards her friends. Zabini looked quite amused while Daphne's eyes tried to pop out. Sophie could only whisper a short "Night" back. Maybe they could have spoken about how they would react around their friends but she guessed it was too late. Now she had a lot of explanation to make. She turned back to her friends to find Sophie; outraged and Luna, dreamy as always. Sophie raised an eyebrow questioningly. Cecily smiled awkwardly.

"Um… Funny story…"

* * *

By the time Cecily finished her story, Luna had fallen asleep. How she managed to fall asleep while listening to such story was a mystery. But Sophie was nowhere near sleep, she was shocked beyond imagination. She had left the compartment for fifteen minutes and shit hit the fan in that tiny period of time!

"Sophie, are you okay? You look too pale to be okay." Cecily said while touching her friend's shoulder.

Sophie shook her head. "I will never be okay again. After what I've just heard, I don't think I'll be able to chill again." With that she started to chuckle. "Damn, if you didn't stop him, he would rip my heart out, probably!" Her chuckling slowed down a bit. "But seriously, what are you going to do?"

Cecily thought for a moment, inhaling loudly. "I'm not sure what to do but do I even have a choice, Sophie? I mean, we're bound, end of. I can't possibly leave him and go on my separate way. First of all, he would find me by my scent. And before you ask, I have no idea how that works. Second of all, I could never be with someone else while a livid veela is flying upon me yelling 'mine' like a vulture. And third of all, he would be desperate without me. He needs me, Soph, I can't do that to him." She didn't know when exactly she decided she should stay with him but deep down inside she knew she couldn't just walk away. It wasn't like her to run away from problems.

Sophie looked thoughtful. She was apparently calculating their options. Finally she sighed audibly. "Well, it's your decision. But I don't see a way out, either. On the other hand, we haven't done any research so we could be overlooking something. Some loophole maybe?" she said suggestingly.

"I don't know, Sophie. But of course I will make my final decision after my research. If I have the right to choose, that is." She said almost desperately.

"Is he good?" Sophie blurted out. But Cecily didn't seem to follow. "Is he good? You know, they call him the Slytherin Sex God! Tell me, how true is that?" She seemed very fond on the matter. But Cecily was once again blushing furiously. She was never one to talk about sex openly.

"He was… fine." was all she said.

"Oh, come on! Tell me, how was it? You have to give me some details, at least!" Sophie said disappointedly.

"Um… Okay, it was good. Really good. But mind the fact that I completely regret it and wish it never happened. I don't even know what came over me! It must be some secret dangerous veela super power."

"Or, Malfoy is inhumanly sexy, and you were just, well let's say, excited."

"I was NOT aroused by Malfoy."

"Well, you said it, not me." Sophie declared, rising her hands up in the air as if surrendering.

"You are insufferable." Cecily said matter-of-factly.

But Sophie wasn't finished. She knew Cecily's situation was serious. But watching her friend suffering in shame was too funny to stop now. "I heard he had a good set of abs, like he's some godly creature. What about that?"

"Sophie…" Cecily looked annoyed. How hard was it to believe she did not like to talk about this?

"Oh come on! At least tell me this: I was told he had a record of twenty minutes, how true is that?"

"Sophie!" Cecily shrieked, throwing a pillow at her friend. This was going to be a long night, it seemed.

* * *

At the same time, a similar conversation was taking place in Blaise Zabini's dorm room.

"You did what?" exclaimed Daphne. "Draco, that's insane!"

"Well, I wasn't exactly sane, Daphne. I don't know what came over me." Draco said desperately. Even though Cecily looked like she was cooperating that night, he knew his struggles were only starting.

"She seemed fine tonight. Not really hostile." Blaise stated evenly.

Draco took a deep breath. "Well, I did my best to soften her up. She has every right to rend my head off right now. I have a long way to proceed."

"Well, good thing, half the school's population is drooling over you!" Blaise suggested with a chuckle. "It will be easier with the way you look."

Draco rose an eye brow. "I know you've a crush on me, Blaise but try to keep it in your pants. I'm taken. Sorry to disappoint." He said cockily.

"Dream on, mate. Because this hottie," Blaise pointed himself with his finger "is way out of your league." He ended his sentence with a loud laughter. Daphne was listening the exchange silently.

"Get over yourselves, will you? We have a girl to impress. And this idiot" she said pointing Draco "fucked the plan up before it started."

"So, you do have a plan, I presume?" said Draco eagerly.

Daphne looked in deep thought. "Not exactly a plan but I have a way to move forward. Let's see what we can do to get you to her good graces, first and then we'll get her to fall for you. One step at a time."

"Well, do elaborate." said Draco. And the trio of Slytherins started a brainstorm that ended up in an itinerary and a good plan to follow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author' Note: I know it's been forever but I will try to upload more often. The way I finished the third chapter made it hard for me to write because I changed my mind about my original idea. So there's just one tiny change at the end of the third chapter. It's nothing major, only makes the fourth fit in better.**

 **I have been trying to avoid writing an angsty dark fiction, Because I simply want it to be funny. To lighten up the readers so here we go. Let me know what you think, leave a review!**

 **Also, I realised I haven't been putting a disclaimer on my story. How very rude of me. I'll put it this once, please consider it valid for every other chapter. Because first; I'm a lazy-ass girl and second I'll probably forget it again at some point.**

 **Disclaimer:I do not own the Harry Potter series, nor do I make profit from this story. Everything except Cecily Ravn, Sophie Barnett, Peter Dawson and Madison Doyle belongs to the brilliant J.K. Rowling.**

* * *

Of course, the said plan would have been successful if Cecily hadn't been avoiding Malfoy like the plague. Every morning Draco would wait for Cecily at the door of the eighth years' common room. But she somehow managed to escape without him noticing. How the hell she managed that was a mystery. Because he was getting up earlier and earlier every passing day and it still was too late to catch her. When he tried to talk to her during meals, she would blubber some excuse so as not to speak to him. They only shared three fucking classes and Cecily being herself wouldn't talk as they shouldn't be causing disturbance during the lesson. And she always had some-fucking-where to be after classes, mostly the library. And of course, little miss I-never-break-rules wouldn't speak in the library. Seriously, what was all this about the library? Was she going to forestall Granger or something? But he still got to watch her study from close distance so it was better than nothing.

And then there was the detention. Draco never thought he would feel sad about a cancelled detention. The following morning after the unfortunate event –as Cecily kindly put it- McGonagall heard their whole story and decided the students really weren't guilty, she changed her mind about their detention. She even offered they share a dorm room since they were practically married but before Draco could open his mouth, Cecily declined. The nerve of the girl!

There was this one time he pulled her behind a tapestry after potions but it was sabotaged by the Weaslette, who had the perfect timing for asking for help for her Transfiguration paper. Obviously, Potter's little know-it-all side-kick was too busy to help. Draco knew what was keeping her busy. That redheaded pain in the ass she called her boyfriend was too damn clingy for his own good. And of course his kind hearted, madly in love girlfriend would never turn down his requests. Why it bothered Draco, he didn't know. But there was a big chance it was because while the Weasel was treated like practically a king by his goody-goody girlfriend, his mate wouldn't even care to give him two fucking minutes! The fate had chosen them! They were supposed to be a perfect match! They should have been the happiest, the luckiest, the most in love, the best god damn it!

It was getting on his nerves. No, she was getting on his nerves! She was fucking stubborn! And not really open-minded. She wasn't even giving him a chance. And there was another thing: Draco's health was affected poorly because of her silent treatment. The rejection was taking all his energy away. He wasn't sleeping much at night so he was mostly sleepwalking during the day. In the meals his food would stay on his plate forgotten as he watched the back of Cecily's head from Slytherin table. He knew since she was claimed, he wouldn't die. But the heartbreak was eating him alive. It had to stop. He had to talk to her and convince her. If she wasn't going to willingly speak to him, he would make her speak. Tonight, there would be a conversation and he would get what he wanted.

* * *

After the first day's incident, Cecily had thought all night without a minute of sleep; she had to work up a strategy to move forwards. First of all, she had to spend the minimum amount of time with Malfoy in order to avoid any more unintended, well, intimacy. After the stunt he pulled in the common rooms, it was obvious he would be open about this whole veela-mate thing. But Cecily wasn't so sure about that. It wouldn't be right to go public before they actually started a relationship, if they would at all. And to decide if they would, she needed to do some research first. So the plan was set; avoid Malfoy if possible and do lots of research.

Another matter behind this decision was that Cecily felt embarrassed about throwing herself in Malfoy's arms. What a stupid thing to do that was! And although she had the strength to carry out a decent conversation after what happened, the silent night was bringing all the shame at once. She didn't think she could face him just yet and her excuse to avoid him was valid so avoiding was the plan.

To achieve this, she thought she needed some help. First thing in the morning she managed to catch up with Harry and ask for his invisibility cloak. She kept knocking on his door until a sleepy Harry opened the door with one eye open and the other closed. When Cecily indicated she had to talk to him, he let her in out of kindness. She knew very well that he wanted to go back to sleep as soon as possible. She also knew he wouldn't give his cloak away so easily but she really needed it. But Harry Potter, being the curious git, had to know the reason why Cecily suddenly needed something like an invisibility cloak.

Now, Cecily didn't trust many people, but one she would always count on was Harry. If it hadn't been for him and his help, she would have been an ex-death eater now and probably an ex-convict as well. Thus, she explained the situation as quickly as possible to get what she needed before Malfoy woke up and go on with her day.

"Hang on, hang on" said a very confused Harry. "So you mean to tell me that you actually had the stomach to, erm, to, you know, with Draco sodding Malfoy? Merlin's balls, it's too early for this conversation."

"Believe me, Harry, I have no explanation. And I know I'm asking for something dear to you but I really can't see another way. I just can't face him yet. I need time. And he is one persistent bastard." Cecily explained. Harry had a look on his face that indicated he was in deep thought. That was to be expected, though. One didn't hear a story such as Cecily's and not be appalled.

"I thought you liked that Russian bloke, what was his name? Andrei?"

"No, he's just insisting we ought to date. But he's too tall. I look like a third year next to him." Cecily said self-assuredly. Harry snorted cockily.

"Good to know you take the right things in accord. Well, anyway. I don't know what to make out of this weird story but you know you can't hide from him forever. You'll have to pull up the courage at some point."

She already knew that. But if she had a chance to postpone that "some point", she would. "I know, Harry but I need to clear my head. Please?" She had a pleading expression on her face. "Just for one week at least. Until I talk to George. It's not like you use it. Please, I really need it."

Harry gave out a sigh defeatedly. "You're being a coward but okay. Have it your way." He walked up to his closet and after some digging, he pulled out the old cloak. She practically grabbed it from his grasp and gave him a hug. After thanking for at least ten times, she got up to leave. As she was about to get out, she heard Harry mumbling. "Hearing stories about Malfoy's sex life. Perfect way to start a day. Just perfect."

She couldn't help but giggle. It was good having friends she could count on. Before the war she had Sophie and only Sophie. She was always supportive, considerate and caring but she had this tiny problem that she just couldn't be rational about solving problems. Either she got too anxious and acted foolishly or slurred over the matter and got screwed. Take the time she had a run in with her all time crush, Theodore Nott for instance. She almost tripped Flitwick up trying to flirt. And ended up; first laughed at by a hoard of Slytherins and second crying herself to sleep in embaressment three nights in a row. She was a lost cause in emergency situations. It was good to be the one that was backed up for once.

Now with the cloak in her hands, she was doing a fairly good job hiding. She even managed to make up enough excuses to get away from Malfoy. But that was the only part of the plan that was working. The research process was a disaster. The more she read, the more she realised she had no way out. Well, without making Malfoy's life a misery, anyway. She was spending all her free time in the library to find something useful but nothing seemed to be working for her favour. She was trapped. She had to accept Malfoy, or should she say "her new husband". Whoever came up with the idea that when a veela claimed his/her mate, they were to be regarded as husband and wife was apparently incapable of doing his job. Oh, just peachy, she was practically a Malfoy now. Hooray!

As days passed it became more and more difficult to avoid Malfoy. He was always following her like a lost puppy, asking if he could talk to her. But she had to admit, he was stalking her in the kindest way. His tone was never aggressive or his behaviour never offensive. He was generally sweet and kind with his pleading. Sometimes he would tease her just to get a reaction but Cecily wasn't giving in. She had to complete going through every single book on veela in the library, then talk to George, then make up her mind, if it wasn't made up already.

* * *

It was a tiring day for Cecily. Thursdays were going to be a trouble for her, obviously. She had Aritmancy and Charms in the morning then History of Magic and Ancient Runes and Potions in the afternoon. In addition, her prefect round was on Thursday night as well. She had to talk to Ginny, the Head Girl, about it. She still had an hour before the rounds but she already felt exhausted. So she decided she should get some rest before the rounds. As she laid in her four poster bed, she thought she heard her door opening slowly. As the doors was charmed not to allow anybody in if not invited, she assumed she imagined it and didn't bother to check. But another click from the lock proved someone indeed got in her room. In panic, she jumped out of her bed, grabbing her wand from the nightstand. But before she had the chance to use it the candles were lighted and a pair of black eyes were staring into hers.

It seemed Draco Malfoy grew the habit of barging in through doors unexpectedly. Cecily just stood there like an idiot. He didn't seem angry or vicious. "How did you get through the spell on the door? It's supposed to keep you out." It was the first thing that came to her mind. She had to admit she was short of words. She knew casting him away was wrong and she did have her doubts but she was too pathetically confused and needed time. It seemed her time was over.

"Looks like the spell doesn't bloke spouses." He emphasized the last word. "I wasn't aware the door was charmed so it's not my doing."

Cecily decided to ignore the first bit. "Well, you shouldn't really barge into people's room even if the door is not charmed. Where are your man- Oh, my Merlin!" She was looking at his face for the first time in almost a week. And she didn't like what she saw. He looked as if he'd got hit by a bludger. "You look horrible! What happened to you? Are you sick?" She had a look of concern. How long had he been in this state? Was this because of her? Because she had been ignoring him inconsiderately? Merlin, was she killing him?

A pained look flashed in Malfoy's pitch-black eyes. "Nothing too serious. Just the veela not taking rejection well." So it was because of her. She was too selfish to consider how her behaviour would affect him. But she didn't think the veela would detect her lack of communication as rejection. She never rejected him, only delayed accepting him a little bit.

"I never rejected you! I was only doing some research. That's all."

"Well, you have been ignoring me for five days now. I just thought you didn't want anything to do with me. The message was simple." Draco was half pleased by her answer. She didn't reject him. That was the first step. And she said she was doing research, so she must have found that the bond couldn't be broken. Maybe she was even starting to accept him. However good that idea felt, he decided it was better not to hold his hopes up. She still had doubts, after all.

"Look, Malfoy, you need to understand that I need time to think what to make out of this… this thing. It's confusing and I had so many questions and-"

"Why didn't you ask me? I would happily answer whatever question you had. And even though it pains me to do so, I can give you time. As long as you want. You just needed to ask." He said softly. It was obvious from his tone that he was in misery; both physically and emotionally.

"I'm sorry. You're right, I shouldn't have avoided you like this. But you are so insistent that I thought I should think without your influence. You seem to block my rationality."

"Cecily, you can't decide without giving me a chance. I can prove that I am worthy of your love or at least affection. I would do anything to show you how much I care about you. What I said when were in the fields… It was the truth. I love you. I know it doesn't make sense. Even I can't figure it out but it is the truth. I can't help it. It is how I feel. I love you. I need you. And the last five days were the worst days of my life and I actually shared a house with Voldemort. I miss you terribly. I want to talk to you, to hold you, to kiss you, just to have you with me. It's torture to be so close yet so far away from you. Please, just give me chance. It's all I ask of you. Whatever question you might have, I will answer and whatever condition you might have I will accept. But don't shut me out like this. We're in this together."

He was shaking by the end of his speech. He was helpless. He needed her like the air. He would do anything to convince her. And Cecily was burning with guilt. She was looking everywhere except his face. She hadn't realised she caused so much pain for him. She really should have spoken to him about it. Harry was right. She had been a coward. She hid behind excuses to cover up her cowardice. Now she had to make it up for him. After all, who deserved this? He was in physical pain!

"I am really, truly sorry. I didn't realise how bad it was for you. I didn't think- I just- I was afraid, I guess. This is a huge step in life and it happened so quickly I just couldn't accept it right away." She once again looked at his face and dreaded what she saw. He looked like he was about to collapse. "Look, why don't we sit down? You could use some rest and this will take a while to discuss. Here, let me help." She reached and held his arm to guide him to her bed. The moment her fingers touched his arm, he shivered. In normal situations, the veela would be ashamed that his mate thought he was weak. After all, one wouldn't trust someone to protect them if they considered the other too weak. But he longed her touch, even the smallest bit of it. So the veela let his mate pull him to bed and sit him down. She gently put a pillow behind his back, making sure he was comfortable before sitting down as well. His veela was savouring his mate's attention. Deep down inside, he knew she acted out of guilt. But it was better than nothing. She gave him a small smile.

"Is this any better? Is there something I could do to make you feel better?" She asked eagerly. And she had every intention of doing what he asked. As long as it was rational, that is. Honestly, she had a guess what might make him feel better but she hoped he would require something else. Because no matter what state he was in, "that" was out of question.

He patted the place next to him on the bed. "If you could sit closer… Um, It would be better." He was suddenly anxious. And he couldn't figure out since when Draco Malfoy felt anxious asking a girl just to sit next to him. Then he remembered he never had to ask a girl to do anything. They usually threw themselves at him, there was no reason to ask. It was a funny game fate was playing on him, really. His mate was one of the dozen of girls that wasn't affected by him.

Cecily eyed the place he patted for a second and decided that wouldn't hurt. She moved next to him and once she sat down, her head automatically found its place on his shoulder. She decided it was the result of the tiring day. But she couldn't help but think how calm and content his touch made her feel. Soon his arm was around her shoulder and her head on his chest with her arms around him as well. She could feel him breath steadily and hear how fast his heart beat.

"So…" She began. "I have done some research." He snorted at that. Cecily practically lived in the library. Some search was a little underestimated. "Well, I found something rather… interesting. And you kind of confirmed it when you came in." She took a deep breath. "You said spouses weren't kept out by the charm. So as I understand we're not just bound but also, kind of, married?" She asked unsurely. She simply wasn't ready for such commitment.

It was Draco's turn to take a deep breath. "Yes, you understand right. As veela are considered magical creatures, we don't need the ministry to confirm the marriage. The bonding ritual is all we need." They were both silent after that. After a while, Draco broke the silence. "I wish I could go back in time and change everything. Now you are putting up with all this because I was an idiot. And you put up with me of all people. Must be torture."

Cecily rose her head to look at his face. "Draco, you misunderstood. I didn't mean that I don't like it because it is you. It's just- I'm so young. _We_ are so young! It's too early to make up such decisions! And I have a total mess waiting for me that I have to take care of after I graduate. A family name to rebuilt, a company to manage, a father to deal with! Well, not the last bit. Not anymore. You wait until my father hears about this. He'll be in seventh heaven. He was already singing your praises all summer. Draco this, Draco that, Merlin, I was starting to think he had a man-crush on you!" She chuckled a bit at the end. It was true that her father's first choice was the Malfoy heir as a suitable husband for his daughter. And the list didn't get better after Draco. Cecily would definitely prefer Draco over Goyle or Flint.

While she was lost in thoughts, Malfoy was in another dimension as well. So even if he wasn't a veela and she wasn't his mate, Cecily's father was going to offer a marriage contract to his father. Knowing how close they were, Draco was sure Lucius would've been delighted. So after all, they would be together at the end. They were truly meant to be together. She was meant to be his. The thought filled him with happiness.

When Cecily looked up at him again, she saw him smiling. "Why are you smiling?" She asked sleepily. If they stayed in this position any longer, she would fall asleep.

"It's just weird to think that even if none of this happened, we would still be together." She gave him a questioning look. "Think about it. If your father went to mine offering an arrangement, would my father refuse? Absolutely not! He would jump on the offer. Than we would be engaged. Then get married, coming back to square one. It only happened faster than it normally would have happened." He was obviously pleased with the idea. Cecily wasn't so against it, either. At least being soul mates were more romantic than having an arranged marriage. But still, she would prefer the normal way. A little bir of courting, a little bit of dating…

"And it's not just your father, believe me." Draco continued. "Mother is already blissful I have found my mate and it is someone close to the family." Cecily felt her blood freeze at this. He already wrote to his mother? "I'm sure the word reached my father by now. Mother is too excited to keep quite." Oh, dear! "Soon they'll write to Mr. Ravn, I'm sure of it."

"Malfoy, you idiot!" She jumped out of his grasp. "I haven't written my father about this. Oh, now he's going to be pissed. Thank you very much." She wasn't afraid her father would get angry. But there was enough drama between them as it was. There wasn't a need for another reason.

"Well, he was bound to learn at some point. And it is a better approach if the parents informed him. If you wrote, it would be as if you rebelled against him. This is more decent." He seemed pretty sure about his argument. Cecily didn't like it.

"I did rebel against him, you dumbass! I practically ran away to join the Order! I have fought against my family at the battlefield! Did you think I was some kind of obedient little girl following her father's footsteps? I'm only angry because you probably earned me a couple of howlers!"

"Who sends howlers anymore?" She heard him grumble. But then he seemed to drain her words. _She did what?_ "You did what? How can you fight against your family? They are your own blood!" He was genuinely surprised.

"With a fucked up family like mine, you can fight, alright." Cecily usually didn't like discussing family matters. But somehow, she was consent with telling him. "I've never felt any affection towards my father and vice versa. We simply had to acknowledge the other and that was it. But the breaking point was probably when you took the dark mark." Draco winced visibly at her words. The mark was something he never wanted to be reminded of. He was grateful it was fading away. But why would his mark affect her relationship with her father?

"What are you talking about?" He ask curiously.

Cecily settled down once again on the bed and stared at nothing for a while. "Well, you see… I think you would agree that both our fathers were, and mine still is, consumed in greed for power and influence. Now this greedy bastard heard the Malfoy heir was accepted to Voldemort's inner circle. It was outrageous, apparently. That you were worthy of the honour and I was not. It was decided by my father and uncle that I should prove myself worthy. And that request was the last drop."

Draco was listening with rage starting to bloom inside his body. He had no idea his past mistakes caused her so much trouble. He ruined her life even _before_ he met her. And he had been happy he got that bastard's approval. Well, he could now officially shove it up his arse.

"Then, when I came back to Hogwarts, I asked Harry to help me run away from my family. I couldn't find another way. Thankfully, after some persuasion, he accepted to help and asked the Order. They put me in a safe house during summer. But sixth year was practically hell. If my godfather wasn't here to look after me I wouldn't have gotten away with my plan. Anyway, in short, I joined the Order, fought with them, won a war and my family needed someone to take the name in good graces of the society. Guess who the lucky girl was?"

Once the story was over, she felt as if a weight had been taken off from her shoulders. She never told this much about her family to anybody but Sophie and her godfather. But then, suddenly, she poured her heart out. "I never knew what family meant or what fatherly love was so it wasn't hard for me to turn my back at them. You know, in my family, when you turn your back at someone, the only thing that worries you is that someone might throw a dagger at you. There isn't love, just agreements. Everything has a price. You know when my father offered peace to me, he said 'if you raise our name again, you'll be accepted and have your share of the heritage.' Again, an agreement. Weird thing, this family business."

"Where is your Mother?" Draco asked cautiously. He didn't want to force her to tell him. He understood it was hard for her to talk about this. Her shaky hands and teary eyes were all the proof he needed. He pulled her in his arms and embraced her in a hug, kissing the top of her head gently. She spoke with a shaky voice.

"I don't know. Father says I was three when she went away. Father was in Azkaban for his crimes in the First War at the time. And my mother left, leaving me with my uncle. I lived with him and his son until father was released. I don't remember my mother at all."

Draco wanted to take all her sorrow away. He wanted to find a way to make her smile. But he couldn't think of anything at the moment. The things his sweet little mate had to endure was horrible. She had said she was never loved by her own family. Who wouldn't love someone like her? From now on, his job was make her feel loved and cared for. She was his princess and he was going to make sure she felt like one.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. If she left you, then she didn't deserve your love. What kind of a mother leaves her child behind? Let alone with such horrible people?" He shook his head.

"It wasn't all that bad, you know. I had my godfather, he was mostly there for me when I needed help. He could be a little cold from time to time but he was a good man behind all those layers. I know he tried to help you, too. And he did help, in a way. But I guess you were too stubborn."

"What are you talking about? Who's your godfather?" He didn't remember anyone trying to help him at all. Except for Snape but nobody else.

"It's Severus."

"What?"

"My godfather… He's Severus. Apparently he and my father were close friends, just like he was with yours. So, yeah… He helped me a lot. Like I said, he tried to help you too but, you're an idiot as you so kindly put it earlier." Now this was a shock. The more they dug in, the more connected they were. Draco always knew Severus was genuine with his offerings. But at the time, he was convinced that it was an honour to serve that crazy bastard. And he wanted to prove himself. It wasn't until the time came for him to complete the task that he realised he had made a mistake, that Voldemort was just an insane man with a lust for power. And he was about to drop his wand when Bellatrix came in with the others. It was too late to give up, then. But Severus knew he wouldn't be able to kill someone. So he had already had plans to kill the man himself. It was painful to think he was gone.

"What are you thinking?" Cecily's soft voice drifted him away from his thoughts. She was looking up at him under her lashes. He couldn't help but think how cute she was. She was really a little sweet bunny he wanted to love and protect. He wanted to wake up to this face every morning. He wanted to spend his days only looking at her, he couldn't have enough of her.

"Draco?" Cecily was waving her hand in front of his face. "What is it? You look dazed again. And please, don't come up with a cheesy line to avoid telling me what it is that you are thinking."

They both chuckled at the memory. Cecily was turning him into a sappy bloke and he couldn't help it. Before he answered, he pulled her legs over his knees and set her on his lap. She seemed a little uncomfortable about the position but said nothing about it. Then Draco held her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes.

"You want to know what I have been thinking?" His voice was husky. "I have been thinking how lucky I am to have you. I have been thinking that you are so beautiful, sweet, strong yet so vulnerable and that you are totally mine to love, protect and spoil. If you could ever feel what I feel only by having you this close, you would lose your mind with happiness. You make something inside me get warm. Something that has always been cold. I've never fell for a girl before. Now that I have fallen for you, I have no idea how to deal with it. You bewitch me. This scent of yours, princess, it's mesmerising. I've never smelt something so delicious before." He was nuzzling her neck at this point and Cecily thanked her lucky stars she was sitting already. Because if she were standing, she would be on her arse on the ground by now. How did he make her feel this way only by talking?

When she felt a lick at her throat she let out an involuntary moan. It sent shivers down her body. Suddenly the room was too hot. Draco was kissing and nibbling at her neck softly. She put her arms around his neck and threw her head back to expose her throat to him. Why had she been torturing herself by ignoring him while they could have been doing this all the time? His kisses very getting closer to her lips slowly. He was taking it slow on purpose as he didn't know how far Cecily was willing to go. Just as his lips connected with hers, there was a knock on the door. Then Blaise Zabini's voice was heard.

"Hey, Ravn! Stop snogging Malfoy and get your arse out here! We know he's smoking hot but do pull yourself together! We have rounds to attend!"


	5. Chapter 5

Draco gave out a sigh. Why was Blaise trying this hard to get himself killed? Swearing under his breath, he pressed his forehead to hers. She was breathless. Her hands were still holding onto his shirt as if it was what kept her balanced. They sat like that for a few seconds then the knocking turned into banging.

"You two better not be shagging while I stand here! Come on, Ravn, move!"

Cecily blushed with the implication of the very same act she had been thinking of just a moment ago. Again, she had lost control, she gave in. She wondered whether it was due to pheromones or she was actually attracted to Draco. She was both pleased and disappointed by the intrusion. She didn't want to do something she might regret later but the way he touched her was so intense that she never wanted to lose that warmth. She opened her eyes hesitantly and found two black orbs staring at her.

"We should probably…"

"Maybe we should…"

They started at the same time. She couldn't help but to smile. "Yeah." was all she could say. Malfoy gently removed her from his lap and got up from the bed. Just when he was about to speak, another set of banging echoed in the room.

"Hey wankers! No need to rush! I don't have anything to do but to stand here all night and wait for your shagging session to be over! Which, as I heard, takes at least about twenty minutes, which, by the way, I respect. It's quite impressive. I mean, I'm not too bad myself but- But, I am drifting away from the topic complimenting your sexual prowess. GET. THE. FUCK. OUT."

Inside the room, Malfoy was smirking while Cecily's blush got darker. "Should we keep him waiting a little longer? I like where he's going with this." Malfoy said cockily.

"If I didn't know the truth, I would say there's something going on between you two." Cecily rolled her eyes. As she wasn't familiar with their friendship, their behaviour seemed a little odd.

"What? A man can't compliment on his friend's sexual abilities?" He asked with a brow raised. Then he added confidently while running his hand through his hair. "Which, by the way, isn't exaggerated in the slightest."

Cecily snorted at that. Okay, maybe he was marvellous in bed but she wasn't going to spell it out to him. His ego was big enough as it was.

"Oh, you don't believe?" He slowly got closer, gently touching her neck with one hand, the other on her hip. Then he lowered his head down to her neck, taking a breath in. "I can always change your mind about that. Like, maybe, when you're done patrolling?" He ended his sentence with a set of kisses on her jaw line. His hand was caressing her belly at this point. Cecily shuddered with pleasure. How did he even manage that with simple touches? She felt her body burn with desire and her legs went weak. Luckily, Draco was already holding her, so she only struggled to stand for a few seconds and realised how badly she wanted to send Blaise away and ravish this man holding her.

Draco took a deep breath as if sniffing the air. "Hmm… I didn't even need to try hard for that. I can smell your arousal in the air." He snuggled his nose against her neck once more. "How exquisite. I can't wait to taste you tonight." Her breath hitched with his words. But thankfully, before she can pass out from overexcitement, Blaise made his existence known again.

"Okay, now I think you guys died in there. Ravn? Draco?"

She practically jumped out of Draco's grasp and headed for the door. It wasn't because Blaise sounded really worried, it was because if she stood there for another second she would jump the veela's bones. Draco just stood there and watched as his mate opened the door with a deep blush on her face.

What Blaise was once the door was open was, in his mind, proof that while he stood there like an idiot, the other two idiots were shagging like rabbits. The dishevelled clothes, messy hair, Draco's massive smirk and that blush on Cecily's face… Now he was pissed.

"Really? Seriously? You were actually banging in there? While I was waiting out here?"

Cecily was about to answer when Draco cut in. "We weren't shagging, shitface. Thanks to you, by the way. Good timing, mate. Keep up the good game."

"What the fuck took you so long then?"

"We'll tell you when you're old enough, mate."

"Fuck you, Draco."

"Why, fuck you too, my friend."

"I'll smother you with a pillow in your sleep."

"I love you, too, Blaise."

"Oh, will you cut the crap!" Cecily cut in. "What are you? A couple of second grades? Draco, you go back to your room and Blaise go wait outside the portrait."

"No way in hell I am waiting again, Ravn."

"Yeah, and don't order me around, witch." Draco added.

"I'll handle this one by one. First, Blaise, go wait outside, I will be there in a moment. I have something to talk to Draco about." She said calmly.

Blaise stared back and forth between Draco and Cecily. "Fucking fine." He muttered before he went out. Now it was Draco's turn.

"Now, you go back to your room and do whatever the hell you want. I'll be back in an hour or so then we can continue from where we left. Clear?"

Okay, that wasn't what he expected but he wasn't complaining either. "I knew you couldn't resist my charms, princess." He said self-assuredly.

Cecily looked befuddled for a second, then realised how he interpreted what she said. "I meant the talk, Draco. We weren't finished. Talk and nothing else. Make no mistakes." His face fell at once. He was so close. If Blaise didn't interrupt he could have had his way. Well, at least they would be close.

"Fine. Talking it is. I'll wait for you here, if that's okay? It smells like you." He took a deep breath.

"That would be an extremely creepy thing to say in any other situation but well, everything we have is creepy. So, why not?" She shrugged. "I'll be back in about an hour" With that she went for the door.

"No kiss goodbye?" Said Draco teasingly.

"No." She said as she closed the door. Draco chuckled at her mood. He went back to Cecily's bed and laid down. Even if they only took a small step, he was happy that they were starting to have a connection. He wanted to know everything about her. And it seemed Cecily would open up more and more along the way and she would feel more comfortable being close to him. He understood what a shock it could be to wake up one day and realise you're bound to someone for life. She had every right to be nervous or scared. And it was his job to make those fears go away.

* * *

"Ten points for being out after curfew." Said Cecily calmly. They were almost done patrolling and she was too tired to get angry at this point. And Blaise wasn't helping much either. If it was up to him, he would just send everyone on their way to avoid any difficulty. And then maybe try to flirt with a sixth year who was in the restricted session. Oh wait, he already did that. There seemed to be a problem with the hoard of Slytherins. They were too laid back for their, or everyone's own good. He even tried to convince Cecily to let go two Slytherins because they were "only getting some air". But Cecily was making no exceptions.

"You need to relax, Ravn. Or Draco could do that for you, if you know-"

"No, Blaise," Cecily cut in. "I don't know what you mean. I don't want to know what you mean. Stop making jokes about our sexual life. Haven't you had enough fun?"

"What sexual life?" He snorted. "All I see is my mate running after you and you pushing him away for one or another reason."

"Those reasons are valid, Zabini." She said, obviously annoyed at his comment. "And it's none of your business. Draco and I are fine as we are."

"No, you are fine as you are. He is just adjusting to your choices."

"So this is what all those jokes were about? You wanted to confront me about my relationship with Draco?" Cecily said questioningly.

"Yes, I wanted to confront you about your so-called relationship with Draco. Because I can see how this is affecting him. It's sixth year all over again. He's not eating, not sleeping and almost never talking. And it is your fault. You are afraid of this or that so you push him away regardless of what you are doing to him. Did it ever occur to you that this can be scary for him, too? This is Draco we are talking about, the most selfish student in this school and yet he would give his life for you. You are the receiving end of the bargain. Have you ever thought what it would be like to be on the giving end? To need someone to live? No, I don't think you have. I don't think you have thought about this at all. So I am telling you this only once, get your shit together, and give him what he needs. And mind the phrase, not what he wants but what he needs. He needs you and you are too selfish to see it. There I said it."

They were standing in the middle of the hallway and facing each other. She could see Blaise was worried about his friend, and she understood that. Also, he did have a point. She never thought what this was like to him. This night must have been "let's make Cecily feel awful" night.

"Wow. I… um… You are right, I haven't thought about it that way." She managed to say guiltily. "But we are… talking about it. We were, before you came. We'll sort it out eventually. Hopefully."

Blaise gave a slight nod. "Sorry for blowing up like that." He turned around and started walking again. Cecily followed quietly. She had no idea Slytherins were this loyal. "It's alright." She said understandingly.

"He's been my friend since we were in nappies, Ravn. It's horrible to see him like this."

"I'm sorry." Was all she could say. She totally understood him. But her situation wasn't easy either. They walked the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

When Cecily got back to her room, she found Draco laying on her bed almost asleep. He got up the moment he saw her but his eyes were still half open. "Hey." He murmured.

"Hey. Sorry for keeping you waiting." She sat next to him. "It took longer than I thought it would."

"It's okay. I don't mind." He gave her a smile. "You look tired."

"Yeah, it was a long day." She ended her sentence with a yawn.

"We'll talk later, then. You should sleep."

"That would be good, actually. But before that, I want to say something. I know I haven't been understanding about all this but I will try to be from now on. I did what I thought was right but obviously it was far from right. I'm sorry. You were right. We are in this together. If we are going to be sad all our lives, it will be our decision. And if we are going to be happy, that will be our decision, too. And I think we should try for the second."

Before she knew, she found herself sitting on Draco's lap, with his arms folded around her. "Sounds like a plan to me." She heard him say. Then he pressed his lips on top of her head. She couldn't help but smile. She could feel a calming wave sweep through her body. Then another wave of happiness. Why was this making her happy like this? Well, yes, she was happy but this much? Then she remembered something she read and realisation fell upon her. It wasn't her happiness that she felt, it was his! She could sense his emotions. She took a sharp breath and pulled back from him to look at his face. He had a big smile on his face.

"You accepted me and the bond got deeper. So you can feel my emotions just like I can feel yours." He kissed her on the forehead and whispered. "Thank you."

Cecily was overwhelmed with emotions coming from two different people. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She couldn't remember when sleep captured her.

* * *

The next few weeks went by as they spent more and more time together. And as time went by, Cecily felt herself getting more and more attracted to him. It was true that he could be too stubborn and peremptory but he was also kind and considerate and patient and passionate and so many good things that she felt closer and closer to him every time they spoke.

Now that they were together officially, whole school knew they were together. Well, they all thought Cecily and Draco were dating while in reality they were very well married but still, the news that Draco Malfoy was with someone spread faster than the wind. It got a little bit tricky on Cecily's part. A few of her friends didn't like the fact that Draco was a former death eater. They also didn't trust him as his past with girls weren't quite promising. But after seeing them together for a couple of times, the said friends dropped the matter. Cecily and Draco seemed happy so they would wait until Draco did something stupid and then hex him to oblivion.

The first chance Cecily got, she visited George to ask for Fleur's letter. She did send her a letter explaining veela's nature to her. It was very informative and had some important facts about the veela that she couldn't find any of the books in the library. With the letter's help, she managed to understand what Draco felt and this led their bond to grow stronger.

In the meantime, Cecily's father had gotten the news. The reaction was what Cecily expected. She didn't remember the man sounding so happy before. He sent Cecily a long letter containing his expectations from her and Draco. And most importantly, he was inviting himself to Malfoy Manor for Christmas dinner. Obviously he thought it would be best if he visited Malfoy Manor since Narcissa Malfoy was under house arrest. Cecily was surprised she wasn't mad about it. Well, Christmas at Ravn Manor was never a big event but still she thought she should be mad about it. He should have asked her first. Maybe she didn't want to have dinner with the Malfoys. But that wasn't true. The more she thought about it the more she realised she wanted to be there. Narcissa was quite lovely, in her opinion. She was cheery and loving, at least she was before the war. She had no idea how Narcissa Malfoy was doing after the war but she didn't mind seeing her again. And Lucius Malfoy was still in Azkaban, which left only Draco to join the dinner. She had no complaints about that either. At the end of her chain of thoughts, she realised the only person she didn't want to see was her father. So she accepted the fact silently.

Currently, she was in the library, doing some reading for Ancient Runes. She never liked this particular subject but she was ridiculously good at it. So now she needed to do some reading before starting the essay assigned. When she noticed a movement in front of her, she raised her head expecting to find Draco smiling at her. But instead she found Seamus Finnigan's smirking face. He was leaning back in his chair with one brow raised.

"Hey." He said "I saw you sitting on your own so I thought I should join you."

Was he joking?

"This is a library, Finnigan, not a bar." She never liked Finnigan throughout her time at Hogwarts. She found him too obtrusive for her taste. And the war hadn't treated him kindly, either. He was as unpleasant as ever, which made it difficult to have compassion for him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to go back to reading."

"You are no fun, Ravn. Me and my mates are having a little party in Gryffindor common room toningt. Care to join us?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"No, thank you. I have a lot of reading to do, so, excuse me." She started to gather her books but he stopped her by grabbing her wrist. "What is it? We are not good enough for your pure blood?" His expression darkened. "Do we have to have a bloody dark mark to meet your criteria?"

"Are you crazy? Let go of me this instant!" She tried to free her arm of his grasp but he only squeezed harder while getting up from his seat. "What are you doing?" she questioned when he pulled her up from her chair. She tried to reach for her wand but it wasn't in her robes. Then she saw it floating in front of her eyes.

"Looking for this?" She heard him ask before he pulled it back from her reach. Now she was scared. Without her wand, she was defenceless. He was pulling her to the back of the library. "You tricked us, death eater bitch! We fought with you! We trusted you! You were just a pretender, weren't you? Fucking traitor bitch! "

No matter how much Cecily struggled she couldn't get away from him. When they reached the farthest bookshelf, he shoved her against the shelves. She yelped in pain but no voice came out. She tried to speak again but it was in vain. He had her under silencing charm. It was almost curfew so the library was almost empty. That was it. Nobody was coming for her aid. Whatever this insane wizard was to do, she couldn't stop.

"Someone should teach you a lesson." With that, she felt his lips on hers and an urge to throw up spread through her. She tried to push him off but wasn't successful. And just right then, she heard a growl echo in the library. She knew who it belonged to, and she knew she was safe now. Before Finnigan could look around for the owner of the growl, black claws separated him from Cecily. And in seconds he was laying on the ground, struggling to breathe as the vivid veela strangled him. Finnigan was trying to push Draco off of him with all his strength but it was in vain. He couldn't compete with the veela. Cecily was in shock. She just stood there and watched as Finnigan struggled to breath. But before long, she came back to her senses. If she didn't react immediately, something horrible would definitely happen to Finnigan. Well, she wouldn't complain if that happened but she couldn't risk Draco getting in trouble for it. But unfortunately, before Cecily could react, Draco extended his wings and wrapped himself with Finnigan inside them.

Although she was in shock, she knew she had to stop Draco before he killed him. She knew it was only a matter of time. She heard his hoarse voice coming through his wings. "You dare touch what is mine, you vermin! You will pay for that! Nobody touches my mate!"

"Draco! Draco don't!" He didn't even bulge from his spot as screams came out of the wings. "Draco, please, stop! He's not worth it!" It was like he didn't even hear her. She remembered the events on the train. How he was in a trance and how he wouldn't react to anything unless Cecily was in danger or hurt. She had to find a way to provide such a scene. She had to distract him from tearing Finnigan limb from limb. Then something in the corner of her eye caught her attention: Her wand. It must have fallen when Draco grabbed Finnigan. She lunged for it in a breath. Without thinking, she directed it on the bookshelf on the other end and sent it flying backwards. Draco, distracted by the explosion, locked eyes with Cecily and his expression softened immediately. Then he rushed to her, forgetting an unconscious Finnigan behind. He wrapped his arms around her. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" He pulled back and held her face between his hands.

"No, no, I'm not hurt. I'm fine. Thank you." She didn't know how he found her or how he knew what was happening. But she was grateful he did. She didn't want to think what could have happened if Draco didn't save her.

The rumble must have alerted the rest of the school because footsteps coming closer could be heard. The first one to appear was Headmistress McGonagall whose wand was raised. Before Cecily could see her, Draco folded his wings around her protectively. She heard Headmistress' cautious voice.

"I will not harm Miss Ravn, Mr. Malfoy. But I need to take whoever that student is to the infirmary immediately. Please move away."

The wings separated slowly as Draco moved away from the unconscious man. "I will take my mate to her room." He informed rather than asking for permission. Cecily saw McGonagall give a small nod and the next thing she knew, she was cradled in Draco's arms. He was headed for the door but his wings and claws were visible and Cecily was sure people were waiting just outside the doors. "Draco, your wings… People will see." He folded them back without glancing her way once. As he walked out of the library he could see Madam Pomfrey running towards the doors with professors on her heel.

* * *

Draco didn't utter a word until they reached Cecily's room. Once inside, he put her down gently then commanded firmly. "Take your clothes off."

"W-What?" Cecily uttered openmouthedly.

"Take your clothes off. You'll have a bath. You stink." He said disgustedly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I got bloody attacked just minutes ago. I can't smell like blueberries now, can I?" Was he serious?

"No, that's not what I meant. You stink of him. I can't bear it." He crinkled his nose. "Makes me want to chase him down again and carve his eyes out. So you are having a bath." He had made his decision already. In the short period of time they spent together, Cecily learned once he made up his mind, there was no chance of changing his decision. So she gave up without a fight. She was too shaken for such a discussion.

"Fine, I will have a bath." Cecily said, clearly annoyed at his priorities. She took a towel and some clothes from her wardrobe and went to the bathroom inside her room but just when she was about to close the door, Draco stepped in. "What are you doing?" Cecily asked.

"I will give you a bath." He said as if it was something obvious.

"No, you won't."

"Yes, I will."

"Nope. Not happening. Get out."

"Don't fight me on this. Get your clothes off and get in the tub so I can remove that stink from your skin. Come on." He started to push her towards the tub. The nerve of him!

"Draco! I am not getting my clothes off in front of you!" She said, outraged.

"Yes, you are. You did before. So you will do so again now." He said while opening the taps with his wand to fill the tub.

She was looking at him pleadingly. She wasn't ready for this yet. The only time he ever saw her naked was when she was high on pheromones. But his veela side was on power at the moment and the veela was quite determined. "Cecily, I am only doing this to clean you. Not so I can see you naked. Believe me, if I wanted you naked for something else, you would be naked by now. So please, stop being stubborn and take your clothes off."

Cecily took a deep breath. "Fine. But you will turn your back and wait until I tell you that you can look."

"Okay." He said and without another word, he turned his back. Cecily removed her robes and started to unbutton her shirt. Then she realised her sleeve was ripped. "Shit." She exclaimed.

Draco, mistaking this for an expression of pain, turned around sharply. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" She said calmly. "I just realised my sleeve is torn, that's it." She waved her hand to emphasize the normality of it. "Now turn back around." She said motioning him with her fingers.

He did as she said with a grunt. "I will kill the bastard! I will cut his head off! How dare he touch you? How dare he attempt to hurt you? Once I am done with you, I will go and find him, then carve his eyes out with my bare hands!" He was grumbling angrily. But while he had his tantrum, one question echoed in Cecily's head.

 _Once he is done with me?_

What the hell did that mean? Did he mean just the bath? Merlin, she hoped he only meant the bath. She silently removed all her clothes and got in the tub. Pulling her knees to her chest to hide her breasts, she cleared her throat.

"You can look now." She was so embarrassed that her face resembled a tomato with hair. She was looking everywhere but his face. On the corner of her eye, she managed to see him taking his shirt off. _Way to make it even more awkward, Draco_ ; she thought. He silently approached her and without a word, started to wet her hair. As he worked on her hair, Cecily let herself relax a little bit. The hot water was tickling her skin and she felt her muscles soften. Draco's soft touch was soothing her anxiety.

When he was done with her hair, he grabbed the sponge from the counter next to the tub and reached for Cecily's arms. "Maybe I should do that part." Cecily murmured but there was no use. He determinedly started to rub it on her skin. The arms were acceptable but when he reached her breasts, her breath hitched. She felt her body tense once more. He was gently rubbing the sponge on her body professionally, without a touch out of order.

Meanwhile, another storm was breaking out in Draco's mind. His human side was struggling to leash the other half for the veela was in need of claiming his mate again. He had to mark her again to prove he was still hers. This possessive side was hard to suppress but he was coping. And he knew she was enjoying his touch, it was obvious. Her breath was laboured and her body was trembling under his touch. He also noticed that she avoided looking at him.

Cecily was having a hard time breathing. It felt so sensual having him touch her like this. Thankfully, he was finished before long so Cecily didn't throw herself at him. She realised he was eyeing the towel. "I can do the rest myself." She said breathlessly. He answered with a nod and left silently.

Once she was done getting dressed, she left the bathroom to find Draco standing in front of the door. He picked her up in his arms and carried her to bed. His movements were gentler now compared to ten minutes ago.

Draco sat on her bed, still holding her tightly. He couldn't believe he failed to protect his mate. It was his fault, he shouldn't have left her alone. Another man had touched her because he was careless. The thought made his blood boil. Then again, he was glad he made it before she was harmed further.

"I was so worried." He said while caressing her back. "When I felt your fear, I thought I was losing my mind with anger. If you hadn't stopped me I would have killed that bastard. I still want to. But I need to look after you first. Finnigan can wait." He realised she was shaking like a leaf. But he didn't sense any fear from her. "Are you cold?" he asked softly. When Cecily only answered with a nod, he knew what he needed to do. He spread his wings and folded them around her. The gesture was so unusual, it made Cecily giggle a little.

She rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled against his neck. It was so calming to be in his arms. The moment he touched her in the library, she knew she was safe. He would protect her from any possible danger. It was strange how their relationship progressed with such pace. Their mental connection provided them with trust and understanding. And in a way, she felt herself more and more attracted to him, more connected. It was so easy to talk to him now.

Draco held her hand and planted kisses on her fingertips one by one. He felt an urge to kiss her, to take her, to mark her as his again. Since he saw Finnigan touch her, all he could think about was claiming her again. To erase every trace of that bastard from her body. But he knew she wasn't ready for that, especially after what she had been through. It had been torture to bath her, to see her naked, to touch her skin but he had to take care of her. So he made every effort to concentrate on bathing her. However, he knew how much she was affected by his touch. Her shaking body and panting, the blush on her cheeks… He just knew she wanted him. But still, he thought it was better to refrain from pushing her. He knew things would work out eventually.

"Draco?" Cecily's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. For everything. I don't want to think what would have happen tonight if you hadn't found me. I just…" She raised her head until she was on eye level with him and softly touched his cheek, then gave him a sincere smile. "Thank you." And just then, he surprised him with a kiss.

Her lips were moving softly against his, challenging his resistance to lust. He answered her kiss passionately but slowly as well. He had to go slow for their relationship's sake. But every cell in his body was screaming for more. He wanted to touch and kiss every inch of her body. _No,_ he thought. He _had to_ control himself. But she was so close and kissing him so softly, her hands were caressing his chest amorously, it was so hard to resist. Before he knew what he was doing, she was thrown on the bed with his body caging her. He met her lips at a stroke and pushed his tongue in her mouth while his hands roamed around her body.

Cecily was appalled by the sudden attack. He had been so collected before that she hadn't expected this at all. But she knew she should have. She was aware of how hard it was for him to choke back the veela instinct. And it was a careless act on her part to kiss him when the veela was potent. Yet, oddly enough, she realised she didn't mind. His lips felt so good she only wished for more. She pushed herself up on the bed, meeting his body with his. He moaned in her mouth lustfully.

He was in bliss. This was all he dreamt of for weeks. He slowly lowered his kisses to her neck and started nipping and kissing on her neckline. Her hands were on his biceps, holding onto him tightly. Draco's hands found their way under the camisole Cecily was wearing and he gently stroked her bare abdomen. She left out a moan as his hands moved gently on her soft skin. His touch was euphoric. She felt herself lost in his embrace. She didn't want to think about anything else. No consequences, no responsibilities, no reason and no logic. She left everything behind. All that was important was Draco and his passionate love making.

Draco quickly got her camisole off and practically ripped up her bra. He started licking and biting her breasts fiercely while getting her out of her remaining clothes. He couldn't stop the burning desire for his mate. The urge to bite her again was crushing his reason. He had to be inside her again, to hear her cries of joy one more time. He reached between her legs and cupped her slit with his hand. Her reaction was instant. She was shivering underneath him with pleasure. She could feel the wetness between her legs and a vibration was spread through her.

Draco tore off her knickers and kneeled down between her legs at once. He first pressed kisses inside of her thigh, slowly lowering his lips. Cecily's was having difficulty in breathing. It was ecstasy. She let out a loud moan and started to wallow in delight as he reached his aim, attacking her slick folds. He pushed two fingers inside her. "So wet for me." He said between licks. "You like what I'm doing, don't you? You wanted this as much as I did." His voice was deep and filled with lust. He was teasing her clit with his tongue with no mercy, she felt her orgasm building up.

"I did… oh, Draco, I did! I want you, please, more! Oh, Merlin, I'm so close! Please don't stop!" She was thrashing about with pleasure as his movements got faster and faster. Before long, he sent her over the edge.

"That's it, come for me. You are so fucking beautiful squirming under me. Mine to devour. Mine to cherish." He said while climbing up on her, his hand still fondling her womanhood. "Fucking divine." Without a stop, he attacked her mouth with his own. She could taste herself on his tongue and it made the moment even more sensual. Then a thought claimed her mind all of a sudden.

"Mark me, Draco. Make me yours again."

And he just did that without hesitation. He sank his teeth on her neckline and she once more trashed beneath him, high on his scent. Draco's breathing was raged, he was ecstatic. Then Cecily heard a snarl-like voice leave his lungs and before she knew it, Draco was naked on top of her, shoving his hard member inside her. She screamed as the intrusion stretched her out and held onto his arms in pain. He seemed to pause for a second but obviously he couldn't resist the instinct any longer as he once again slammed his cock inside her with force. His thrusts were fast and almost merciless. But he couldn't seem to stop himself. He had been deprived of touching his mate for weeks and now all the built up tension was coming off the surface.

At first, the pain was too strong for Cecily to feel any pleasure. After all, this was only her second time. But after a few thrusts, she felt something inside her quiver. And then the quivering turned into something more. Before long, she was screaming his name with pleasure, his growling echoing in her ears.

"Mine! My woman! My mate! So fucking beautiful! Yes! Scream for me! Tell me who you belong to!"

"You, I belong to you! Draco, oh Gods! I am yours! Always yours!"

He was taking her like a savage, savouring every inch of her body. It gave Cecily a strange feeling of confidence. It was her who made him feel like this. He craved her body, her soul, her all together. Another orgasm was building inside her. It felt like her body was on fire. His thrusts were becoming faster and faster.

"Oh, fuck, Draco! Yes! Oh, Gods! Oh, Gods, you feel so good! Don't stop, please! Make me come!" With one last thrust he sent her over the edge again with himself. He remained on top of her, resting his head on her forehead, trying to catch his breath. The room was silent apart from their heavy panting.

"Draco, that was… Wow… That was amazing!" she managed to say between breaths. He silently captured her lips for a passionate kiss. When he broke the kiss, there was a wolfish grin on his face.

"If you think I'm done with you, you are so fucking wrong."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note : Finally I am able to post this chapter, it took me forever, I know. It was finished almost a week ago but, my whole country went berserk this week. Like, literally, they went berserk. I live in Turkey, I don't know if you know the current situation but for a couple of days, everything was so tense that I couldn't even think about the story at all. But things are going back to normal, we are more relieved. So here it is, the sixth chapter. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. Also, it is the longest chapter so far, so I've got that going which is nice.**

 **Enjoy the chapter and leave a review!**

 **No, seriously, what do you guys think? Tell me. I know my readers are flying around the chapters like ghosts but I really would like to know what you think about it. And it is good motivation. Thank you in advance!**

* * *

The morning came with a loud knocking on the door. Cecily woke up with a start, not realising where she was for a moment, while Draco sprang to his feet at once. In a second, he was in front of Cecily in a protective stance. But after a few seconds, he realised the noise was coming from the door, and his relief could be observed from his face. He took a step towards the door before Cecily's warning stopped him.

"Draco, don't!"

He turned to look what the problem was, and was met by a face as red as a tomato. "You are, um…" Cecily started while staring at her blanket like it was the most interesting thing in the world, "You should get your clothes on, first." Draco noticed that she was looking everywhere but him, while hugging the blanket as if it were her lifeline. Then, after a glance at himself, he realised what caused her distress; they were both naked. He followed her advice with a smirk on his face. Another and a more persistent knock was heard.

"Cecy? Are you awake?" It was Sophie's anxious voice.

"Yes, Sophie, I am. Just give me a second." Cecily called out.

"You should get dressed, too." Draco said with an amused voice. After last night, it was funny how she was still shy about being naked in front of him. The blanket seemed like it was fusing with her skin with the way she was holding it.

Cecily knew she had to get dressed, too, but with him standing two steps away, it didn't seemed just as easy. She knew she was being silly, it wasn't like he had never saw her naked. Especially after last night- _Oh hell!_ Remembering last night was a little bit of a shock. With the banging on the door, their state of nudity didn't remind her of last night, but it was coming back to her now. They had sex again. Lot of sex. Lots of mind-blowing- Okay, she wasn't going there. The point was, she had lost control again. She should have reacted differently, as was her plan to do. Then again, their relationship wasn't going to end soon, if at all, so what was point in waiting? They were married, right? It was absolutely normal. Nothing to be ashamed of. But still, she was nervous about it. And his careless state about his nudity was mortifying.

The banging on the door got louder. "Cecily, can you hurry a little? The Headmistress is expecting you in her office." The level of distress in her voice was alarming. It wasn't hard to get Sophie worked up but this was another level of anxiety even for her.

"I'm coming!" Cecily yelled while getting up, bringing the blanket up with her.

A chuckle came from the other side of the door. "Again?" asked a boy's voice. It didn't sound like someone she knew. But a known chuckle joined him before long. She turned around to find Draco raising his eyebrows at her suggestively while sniggering.

Wait a moment.

What did he say?

Again?

It took Cecily a few seconds to analyse the words and catch the meaning, making her eyes grow wide. Her blush reached its peak in a blink. Did everyone hear them last night? Were they being that loud?

"You know, I am surprised you can still blush." Draco said gingerly. "Your face will blow up if you keep doing that. Now get dressed before that friend of yours breaks down that door."

"How can you be so fine with this? They heard us doing… stuff!" Cecily shrieked. His shamelessness was ruffling her temper.

"Stuff?" he chuckled, "Seriously?" He seemed to enjoy her shyness too much, which was truly getting on Cecily's nerves. But his fun was cut short by another set of banging on the door. It was obvious from the way his face fell that Draco was getting annoyed by the noise.

"Could you fucking move your arse, Malfoy? I don't have all day!" It was the same male's voice. And Cecily was sure whoever that was, was giving Sophie a bad time. Knowing Sophie, this could have meant disaster. And enough disasters had taken place the previous day so it was best to avoid any other problem until the current one was solved. She had to get out of the room before shit hit the fan.

"Could you, um…" Cecily begin, "Can you turn your back, so I can put some clothes on, too?" She mumbled, still clutching the blanket tightly.

Draco arched one eyebrow at her. "Really?" That made Cecily shrug. She knew how pointless her request was but couldn't help it. "Come on, love, I've seen, touched, licked and kissed every inch of you." He was walking over to her as he spoke. Once he reached her, he pressed a kiss on her forehead. "You really shouldn't be shy about it."

Well, she fucking was, now, wasn't she? Was it really necessary to remind her what she _should be_ feeling like?

He was giving her the warmest of smiles, pushing Cecily's walls of shame and nerve. He was her husband, after all, it was the normal way of things. And that particular thought made her guilty about her shyness. She was shutting him out, in a way. But that didn't change the fact that she was indeed shy about it. It was something to get used to step by step and jumping all the way up the stairs certainly didn't help the matters. It was kind of like being naked in front of a stranger. Well, maybe Draco wasn't a stranger but their relationship was quite different from the usual way. They were still getting to know each other even though they were mates. But maybe this could be the day the curtains would be lifted? Maybe this was the chance to take a normal step? It wasn't anything sexual, after all, it was a part of everyday routine. She would just get dressed. It was all right. _Funny how you slip out of your knickers in a second for sex but won't step out of your blanket to get dressed_ , a little voice in her head said. But she sushed it right away. It wasn't time for such a query. She only realised she was staring at nothing when Draco's sigh parted her from her thoughts.

"All right. I'll get you your clothes and turn my back so you can put them on. But I won't be happy about it." With that he went to her drawers next to her bathroom door, only to be stopped by Cecily's voice.

"It's all right, Draco. I 'm sorry I'm giving you trouble about it. It's just that I'm not used to… this," she held her hands up as if showing the point of her argument, "in general. But I know I'm being silly. And I know it has to stop and it stops today."

What the hell was she saying? No, it didn't need to stop today! Surely things could wait a little while, right? Damn snap decisions, damn her judgement, damn Draco, damn them all! _Well, you said it already, no backing out now,_ said that evil little voice again. Oh, how she hated that bloody voice!

In the meantime, Draco was in another dimension. Her agreement to the whole nudity thing meant something more than just being naked, it was another step at getting used to each other. It had always been a barrier between them, making him feel like he was always fighting for her. If she wasn't comfortable about showing her body to him, that meant she hadn't accepted him completely, yet. It was as if she didn't belong to him, yet. And he was constantly trying to get closer, both physically and emotionally, to her. With, hopefully, this wall faded from the scene, she would trust him more with herself.

While drowning in his peaceful trance, Draco gathered the garments she would need and dropped them on the bed next to her. Standing next to the bed with his arms on his hips, he kept staring at her, while she stared at the clothes uncertainly, until she cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Maybe you could, um, step back a little? And, uh, maybe not stare?"

He was staring? How weird, he hadn't realised he was. With a silent apology, he walked to the dresser next to the bathroom door once more to wait for her. She gingerly touched the clothes for a second to decide how she would do this. Trying to put them on without letting the blanket go, she struggled to get dressed for what felt like an eternity, but she at least managed to get her undergarments on, which was quite fun to watch from Draco's point of view. She reluctantly let go of the blanket at last and got completely dressed. Draco's eyes never left her as she moved, and it was a bit unnerving. He wanted her to be comfortable around him so what was the point of making her uncomfortable himself? Or didn't he notice he was staring? More pressing matters were at issue so she let it go for this once. He was a little bit awkward sometimes, anyway. It was nothing new.

"I'll just use the bathroom and we're good to go." She said with an awkward nod, as if giving herself permission to go. Then fled to the bathroom.

While waiting for Cecily to come back out, Draco stood next to the bathroom door just like he did the previous night. So when she stepped out of the door, she almost ran him down.

"Why are you standing at the door?" She asked confused.

"I didn't realise I was. I was just waiting for you." He was being genuine, she could see it on his face. But, Sweet Circe, was he annoying this morning!

"Fine. Do you need the bathroom?" He gave a slight nod. "Okay, go, but be fast. The Headmistress is waiting." She went back to her bed and waited for him silently. Something was different about him today but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe it was the after effects of last night. He had said he thought he failed to protect her. Maybe his veela side was affecting his human side? Well, she could presume, of course, but she knew she had to wait and observe before making a decision. So she decided to let it go. It seemed all she did this morning was letting things go.

When Draco got out of the bathroom, he searched the little room with his eyes for a second until his eyes fell on Cecily. She rolled her eyes at his anxiety. "Let's go." He said calmly before reaching for her hand and holding on tight.

They stepped out of the room to find an almost fainting Sophie and a bored to death, oblivious Theodore Nott, the whole time crush of Sophie since they stepped into this school. Cecily's eyes grew wide with realisation while Draco was as oblivious as Theodore was to the situation. She made to go to Sophie but was held back by the hand in Draco's hand. She tried to pull her hand back again but he wouldn't let go. She gave him an angry look.

"Will you let it go, for Merlin's sake? I'm not running away!"

"You don't need your left hand to talk to her. Why would I let you go?" He seemed like he saw a fair point in his argument. The rest of the people on the earth begged to differ.

"What?" was the answer he got from Theodore, who beat the girls to the answer. Well, he actually only beat Cecily because Sophie looked like she forgot how to make a sound. Oh, this was easy. A friend on the brink of a panic attack, an awkward and overly insistent veela and the boy who caused her friend's panic attack. What a lovely combination that was.

"Okay, just so nobody murders anybody, I would like to make a suggestion." Cecily said slowly. "Now, Theodore Nott, wasn't it?" She asked as if she hadn't been hearing bedtime stories about him from Sophie for the last seven years. Theodore gave an affirmative nod to her. "Well, you take your lovely and cooperative friend here and go to the Head-"

"Woah, wait! I'm not leaving you alone!" Draco had every right to object. Leaving his mate alone after she got attacked the previous night wasn't an option. He wouldn't leave her side for a second.

Cecily took a deep breath to calm herself. "Look, Draco, maybe you haven't realised but I am not known for my eternal patience. In fact, I am not patient at all. So, will you please go with Theodore fucking Nott here and let me calm down before I hex you very very badly?"

Draco had an impression of thoughtfulness on his face. After his rather long session of thinking, he let out an annoyed sigh. "But I don't want to let you out of my sight. What if you get hurt?"

"Then you will know I'm in distress and come rescue me." Cecily said calmly, to her own surprise. When he didn't look convinced, she changed strategies. "I need to talk to Sophie alone. Please, we'll be there before you know it."

"Fine. But make it quick. I don't like you walking alone in this devil's den." He wrinkled his nose with his last words.

 _Devil's den?_

"Thank you. Now, off you go."

He gave her a peck on the lips before motioning to Theo to follow him. He followed Draco with a shocked look. Not knowing Draco was a veela, Theo was surely having hard time adjusting to this new affectionate Malfoy.

When they were out of hearing range, she turned back to Sophie to find her breathing heavily.

"He spoke to me!" Sophie exclaimed. "He actually spoke to me, like, directly, to me! Can you believe that?" A big smile formed on her face before it vanished quickly. "I was an awkward mess! Now he'll think I'm an idiot!" Sophie was shaking her head hysterically. "What will I do now?"

"Sophie, calm down!" Cecily ran to her friend. "He doesn't think you are an idiot. Believe me." Well, Cecily didn't believe herself with this statement but it was the right thing to say. Because if she knew Sophie, she probably had acted like an idiot. "Look, you just breathe. In and out. In… Out… Good. Now I need you to calm down, so we can go see the Headmistress and then we can talk about the Nott incident. Okay?" She patted Sophie's shoulder as she breathed as instructed. When she was finally good to go, they steered for the Headmistress' office.

* * *

Theodore Nott was shocked beyond logic. He had never been close to Draco as much as Blaise or Pansy but this was a whole different boy he had to deal with. He was watching around as if looking for something suspicious and whatever question Theo asked he was always giving short answers. He was fidgeting as if he was about to have a mental breakdown and sometimes even murmuring to himself quietly. It was a miracle how the Ravn girl hadn't smothered him with a pillow yet.

"Malfoy, will you fucking stop… whatever you are doing?"

Draco gave him a side glance. "I'm not doing anything." He shook his head.

"The fuck you aren't! You are annoying the shit out of me with your whispers and fidgety limbs. Just pretend to be a normal person for like two minutes. That's all it takes to get to the old bat's room."

"Nobody asked you to come, Theo." He exclaimed rather sharply.

"Yeah? McGonagall did, you wanker! Why the fuck do you think I was at your fucking door in fucking seven a.m.?"

"Why would she ask you of all people? Why not Blaise?" It was odd that any professor would ask of Theo something about Draco. They were never that close.

"Well, they would have asked but there was this tiny problem that Blaise is in the Hospital Wing at the moment." When Draco stopped dead at his steps, Theo held his hand up to prevent him from speaking. "McGonagall will explain. Let's just go there fast, okay?"

Draco followed him without a sound. Why was Blaise in the Hospital Wing? What the hell was wrong with him? And why the fuck was people giving him extraordinarily hostile stares? It was everyday he got some hateful or angry looks from the other students but today something was off. Something had happened during the time he spent in Cecily's room. And that something was probably the reason why Blaise was in the Hospital Wing.

* * *

When Cecily and Sophie reached the Headmistress' office, they realized the air was extremely suffocating. A sleepless and stressed Minerva McGonagall was shooting daggers at Draco who openly glared back at her. A nervous Theodore Nott was squirming on his chair, ready to step in front of Draco should he react. And the girls' late arrival didn't help improve the atmosphere.

"I see you took your time, Miss Ravn. Why wouldn't you? We have nothing to talk about immediately." McGonagall said with an annoyed voice. Both girls apologised and took their seats in front of her table. "Now, Miss Ravn, why don't you tell us what happened in the library last night?"

"Of cour-"

"What happened to Blaise?" Draco cut in. He was clearly worried about his friend and running out of patience.

"Mr. Zabini was involved in a fight with a couple of Gryffindors last night. He is quite well, if not a bit worn out. He is resting in the infirmary. I will explain further after I hear your side of the story. Now, Miss Ravn, if you please?"

"Well, I was in the library. Then Seamus Finnigan came and sat on my table, telling me about some party in the Gryffindor common room. When I refused to go, he got angry and said some-"

"That fucking arsehole." Grumbled Draco.

"He said something about me being a traitor. Said I betrayed the Order, I was a liar, that sort of thing. Then he said I would pay for what I've done."

"I will crush his skull. I swear I will."

"I think," Cecily continued, annoyed by Draco's intervention. "I think he was angry about me dating Draco. He dragged me to the back of the library and he kissed me."

"That foul vermin! I will kill him! That vile worthless bastard!"

"Are you quite done, Mr Malfoy?" asked McGonagall. Everybody was irritated by the matter and Draco's words weren't helping at all.

"No," Draco yelled. "I will be done when I feed his corpse to snakes!"

"Well, keep your revenge plans silent then. Continue Miss Ravn."

Draco wasn't pleased but it wasn't anything new. So Cecily chose to ignore him. "Well, as I said, he kissed me." A silent murmuring could be heard from Draco. "But then Draco came out of nowhere and pulled him away from me. He, um, battered him a bit. You know how intense they react when their mates are in danger. And he knew I was in danger because we can sense each other's feelings when they are intense. So that's how he found us in the first place. Then I stopped him, somehow. I'm not quite sure. It gets blurry sometimes. And then you came and you know the rest of the story."

Theo was lost somewhere in her speech. The bit about feeling each other's emotions was weird. How could they manage that? Was it about Legilimens or something? And who were "they" and what was the "mates" part about? There were too many questions but at the moment, getting involved in the conversation was like jumping in the centre of a vortex. So he decided he would keep quiet and ask Malfoy about it later.

McGonagall thought for a second before speaking with a frown. "Well, Mr Finnigan is currently at St. Mungo's. Apart from his physical injuries, he will be required to see a mind healer before he can be accepted back again-"

"You will let him back? Why would you do that?" Was this anger Draco day? How could they let that dick come back?

"Mr Malfoy, I have let a boy who attempted to murder our Headmaster come back. Because he had his reasons to act in that way. I have to give the benefit of doubt to my other students, too."

A cold breeze travelled around the room. Everybody fell silent for a moment. It was Draco's turn to frown. He never liked being faced with this particular fact. He was already ashamed without people bringing it up over and over again. But he guessed it was part of his punishment. He had done something horrible and now had to live with the label it brought him: The boy who attempted to murder Dumbledore.

When McGonagall realised he wasn't going to answer, she continued. "Mr Finnigan has been in a poor state of mind since the war. I won't be disgussing any specifics as it is personal information but I assure you, he wasn't in his right state of mind during the incident. Therefore, a dismissive approach wouldn't be right. He will be under the care of St. Mungo's for a while, however long that takes, before he is allowed back in school." She hesitated for a second before realising no answer was to be heard, then she continued.

"Now, after we took Mr Finnigan to the infirmary, the word found its way to the Gryffindors that Draco Malfoy attacked Seamus Finnigan. A group of Mr Finnigan's friends sought out for you, Mr Malfoy, but when they couldn't find you, they apparently chose Mr Zabini as a target." Draco made to speak but McGonagall wouldn't let him. "Before you question me about the Gryffindors, yes; they have been dealt with. I know a little about governing a school, Mr Malfoy, but thank you for your concern."

Another uncomfortable silence was in the air. Everybody was thinking of something to say, obviously, but the silence remained. McGonagall was eyeing each of them one by one, in the expectation of something but nobody was talking.

"Does any of you have a question?" asked McGonagall, at last.

"I have, actually. Will you be holding Draco guilty of what happened to Finnigan?" It was Cecily who asked the question first. She had been thinking about this since the beginning of the conversation.

"No, Miss Ravn, we won't be."

"Oh, that's good." And the silence continued. After realising the conversation was pretty much over, McGonagall cleared her throat.

"Well, if that is all you have to ask, you are dismissed. Now, off you go." She motioned them to the door. But as they were about to step up, she spoke again. "Mr Malfoy? Make sure another incident between your house and Gryffindor doesn't happen again. Remember they don't know the truth, yet. So be patient until an announcement is made, please. We have had enough problems, as it is."

Draco only answered with a nod. Deep down inside, he knew she was right. The Gryffindors acted out of anger because they thought Draco attacked their friend, the loyal lot of them. Yet again, Blaise being in the infirmary didn't help calm his nerves. They should have found him and fought him, not Blaise. What kind of revenge was this if the person they fought wasn't involved in the incident? Whose fucking brilliant idea was that? He bet it was the Weasel. The moron was too much of an idiot to think with a little rationality. It didn't matter anyway. If the Gryffindorks were to seek for him, he would answer them with what they deserved. No matter what the old bat thought was best.

Leaving the Headmistress' office, they stepped into the long corridor, crowded by students on their way to the Great Hall. They also needed to get down for breakfast but both Draco and Cecily had other plans before that. Cecily wanted to talk to Sophie before the lessons started, so that Sophie won't talk her head off between periods or worse, during lectures. And Draco wanted to see Blaise as soon as possible. He might have been seen as a cold-hearted bastard by others but his friends meant a lot to him. Especially that specific wanker, as they were practically raised together. The only problem was, Cecily wouldn't go with him.

"What do you mean you can't come? You know I won't leave you alone again. Be rational about this."

"Rational? Are you hearing yourself, Draco? I can't be with you 24/7, I'd go mad! Just go see Zabini, I'll meet you in the Great Hall."

"No fucking way! Whatever you two need to talk about can wait. What is so important, anyway?"

So Draco wasn't being cooperative, at all. Cecily knew it was hard for him to leave her alone so soon after the Finnigan thing but she couldn't talk about Sophie's ever-lasting love for Theo with Draco at the presence. If she went with him to the infirmary, Zabini and Draco wouldn't talk comfortably, anyway.

"Look, we will have a little girl-talk. Do you really want to be there during that kind of conversation? Just go see him. Finnigan's not in the school, anyway. Who's going to attack me? Hermione Granger for doing better than her in Ancient Runes?"

"Actually you're not doing better-" Theo tried to cut in but was interrupted by Cecily.

"Nobody asked your opinion!"

Ever since Cecily started Hogwarts, she had always been in some kind of competition with Hermione. The rivalry didn't have a hostile nature and wasn't common knowledge. In fact, Hermione herself wasn't aware they were competing. But a part of Cecily always wanted to do better than her just once to see what it felt like being best at what she was doing. And it wasn't just about Hermione being clever, she was also brave and adventurous. While Cecily almost never broke a school rule or misbehaved, Hermione had her fair share of fun, while having top grades on every single subject. Well, okay, Cecily did have some adventures last year, hiding from and betraying her own family and all, but it wasn't exactly a good kind of adventure. It was necessity. It was scary and lonely. Therefore, she had always envied her a little. But then again, the girl had helped her a lot, coping with her decisions in sixth year, and she was grateful for that. So that was it, a respectful hidden rivalry.

"Anyway." Cecily kept on. "Are we done fighting? Can we do what I say we do now and never ever again have this kind of a conversation again?"

"No." was the short answer of Draco. And the argument went on and on until Theo lost his patience.

"Oh for fuck's sake I'll go with the girls! I'll take them back to the common room! Just shut the fuck up, already! You are the most annoying people I've ever had the misfortune to breathe the same air!"

"Well, nobody asked you to stay and listen, Theo. Why the fuck are you even still here, anyway?" said Draco, annoyed.

"Yeah, why are you eavesdropping on our conversation? Why not mind your own business?" It was Cecily, channelling all her frustration with Draco to Theo's statement.

Theo was peeved by the lot of them. He had to wake up at the crack of dawn, deal with a socially awkward girl, have a joyous journey to the Headmistresses office, and listen to the two lovey-dovey birds argue on every single matter and now, he was to blame because he fucking stayed? He was done. He wouldn't move a finger for the pricks from now on.

"You know… No never mind. I'm off to breakfast." He said with a straight face, before turning his attention to Sophie, who was standing a few feet away from the group and watching the three in a weird way. "You coming, shy girl? These two might bite your head off once they lose me."

The bells rang in Sophie's head. Her eyes were about to bulge from her head and her ability to breath seemed to be failing her. She stood there like an idiot, staring at him for what felt like an eternity. What was she supposed to do? If she went with him, she would probably forget how to breathe completely. Then suffocate herself. Then faint. And then Theo would carry her to the hospital- _No, not now, Sophie, damn it!_ So, the options… A) Go with him, be brave, be cool, fuck it up anyway, but still, go with him. B) Stay back and tell Cecily about what an idiotic coward you are and feel miserable. Well, it was a tough choice. She gave Cecily a pleading look, as if asking what to do. Receiving a slight nod, she turned back to Theo, who was watching her with one eyebrow raised, and nodded frantically. An awkward start for an awkward journey. How lovely.

Cecily was about to lose it. This was the most eventful year she had so far and a coupling between Sophie and Theo would be the cherry on top. The glorious peak of an uncomfortably stirring year.

Once Sophie and Theo left, Sophie turned her attention back to Draco. "Well, looks like I'm coming with you, after all." She said with a shrug. A pleased smile formed on Draco's face as he grabbed her hand once more and steered to the Hospital Wing.

* * *

Blaise had just woken up when Draco and Cecily walked in. He had had an awful night, worrying about his friend, fighting a horde of Gryffindors, landing in the Hospital Wing… He hadn't even meant to fight. He had tried to cool everyone down but well, if they were insistent on fighting, who was he to deny them? It would be a better idea to fight while he actually had someone else on his side too, though. It wasn't a heavenly bliss to have your arse kicked by your mortal enemies.

"Well, well, well… Look who's come to visit his beloved friend. Hello there, Draco. Ravn. How are my love birds this pleasant morning?"

He seemed too happy for someone who had spent the night in the infirmary, thought Draco. "Why are you so chuffed, may I ask?"

"Why I am so chuffed, you ask. Well, with you back alive, I now have the perfect team to kick some golden arses. I'd been planning all night, Draco. And I've come up with some fucked up ideas, which I will enjoy immensely when put to use. All I needed was you to back me, and now with you-"

"Hold on, Blaise." Draco interrupted Blaise's blood-thirsty monologue. "Nobody's kicking anybody. Unless they want a second round, we won't cause a problem. McGonagall's orders."

"Since when are you her little puppet, mate? She can order all she wants. I'm still doing this." Blaise was irritated by Draco's behaviour. He betted it was Ravn's insistency on keeping peace which caused Draco's calm spirit. But Blaise was having none of it. "Look, they ambushed me! The fucking so-called brave lot of them cornered me about your whereabouts, then attacked me as if I was the one who pounded Finnigan into jelly. Three against one, Draco. I am having revenge. No matter what you say."

"You think I don't want revenge? I do, mate, believe me. But we Slytherins already have drawn enough interest to us. I don't want any more problems that might put Cecily in danger. If they attack us, so be it. We'll kick their arses. But if they don't, then they don't and that's it. They are the bad guys right now. Why change that? Let them be the fucking wrong ones for once."

"What did you do to him?" Blaise asked Cecily, not believing his own ears. Draco's calmness had to have something to do with Cecily because the Draco Blaise knew would have already come up with a plan.

"Me?" Asked Cecily. "I didn't do a thing. Although I can't say I oppose his way. The Gryffindors didn't even know Finnigan was at fault. They were just angry because their friend got hurt. You would do the same thing for Draco. I would do the same for Sophie. They were merely looking out for their friend." Cecily tried to reason with him, although Blaise didn't look like he was open to reason at the moment. And Cecily couldn't blame him either. If someone had done to her face what they had done to Blaise's, she would have been spitting fire, too. And, really, were they wizards or not? What had happened to those good old hexes and curses? A physical fight was just primitive.

"That's not what I meant, at all." Draco objected. "I don't give two fucks about them, love. Honestly. I'm dying to go find them and break their bones. But, I know that strategy won't earn me anything more than a few punches. First of all, the fight will grow bigger, and they may harm you. They tried before. And we can't have that. Second of-"

"Not everything is about your little bird, Draco!" Blaise shouted out.

"Actually, everything is about my little bird. She is the reason I banged Finnigan up. He attacked her. Because she is mine. So, this actually is about my little bird here." Draco explained. "Now, do you honestly think I don't want revenge?"

"Finnigan really attacked you?" Blaise asked Cecily. She gave him an affirmative nod. It both surprised and didn't surprise Blaise. He had heard that Finnigan's mind was fucked up because of the war but he didn't think he would attack someone. "The rumours were true, after all. He really went bonkers. But that is just more reason why we should plot against them."

"But we are, Blaise. Today, everyone will hear about the story, how Finnigan attempted to hurt Cecily, how the Gryffindors attacked you, everything. They will be blamed and looked upon. Think about it. Wouldn't it be nice if for once they were under the spotlight for doing something wrong? I think watching that will be better."

Cecily was listening to the two with amazement. How they so naturally thought about plotting and making strategies for a stupid school fight was truly shocking. Well, they weren't Slytherins for nothing. Manipulative and cunning to the end, they were. Also, Draco being so calm and rational about the whole situation was odd. The Draco she knew would have already started a fight with the Gryffindors but he was here, trying to calm Blaise down so he won't do anything rash.

"Well, you have a point there. It would be good to watch them be shamed for once. But I still want to strangle someone." Blaise said, rather calm and a little disappointed. Draco's words were getting to him, obviously.

"I do, too. But I think it would be better for us if we just remained silent for a while."

Blaise thought for a while before agreeing. "Fine. I won't start a fight if they don't start a fight.

And that was the moment a concerned Ginny Weasley decided to show up. She stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she stepped into the infirmary. It was clear that she didn't expect to see Draco and Cecily in there. She eyed them for a second before speaking.

"Oh, there you are Cecily." She said awkwardly. "I was looking for you, uh, to see if you were okay." She said as she eyed Blaise in a suspicious way. "I heard about last night."

Cecily did realise the awkwardness but chose to ignore it, at the moment. She would question Ginny in private later.

"I'm fine, Gin. There's nothing to worry about."

With Cecily's answer, the long and uncomfortable silence hit them. Ginny was standing at the doorway searching for something to say, obviously, but nothing came out. Blaise was staring at his own feet as if he had never seen them before. And Draco was none the wiser to the obvious strangeness. He simply didn't talk because he had nothing to say on the matter.

"It's, uh, it's good. I'm glad." Ginny said, still suspiciously uncomfortable. She, at last, pointed the outside with both forefingers while she spoke. "I better get going. I need some breakfast."

"Uh, okay." Cecily said, still highly suspicious, as she watched Ginny practically run out the door. When she disappeared through the door, she turned to Draco. "We should go get some breakfast, too. I'm famished."

"Let's go, then. We can't have you starving, now, can we? We need to look after you well." He seemed more concerned than he should have been, but since it was awkward Draco Day, or awkward everyone day, Cecily chose to ignore it once again. They rose to their feet at the same time.

"When is Pomphrey letting you go?" Draco asked before leaving.

"I don't know, probably sometime around lunch."

"Well then, we'll see you then, mate."

* * *

Breakfast had caused little bit of a problem between Draco and Cecily. For some reason, Draco wouldn't leave Cecily alone for a second, even if they would sit only two metres away. But after the day's third argument, Cecily convinced him to sit in different tables while facing each other. During the day, they had only two classes together and Draco had insisted he accompanied her to the lessons they didn't share. He had at least one Slytherin keeping an eye on her. Yes, he had actually asked someone to keep an eye on her, as if she was a child! He was suffocating her with all the unwanted attention. He even made her promise that after her classes were finished she would wait with the chosen Slytherin until Draco came to pick her up.

With every single student asking her what happened last night and commenting on the matter for a few good minutes, the day was becoming unbearable. And lunch was the same as breakfast. Every time she tried to hide from his overwhelming attention, Draco found her by that goddamn scent and actually had the guts to scold her for being around alone. By the time dinner came, Cecily was fed up with him. She was determined to tell him off and have the evening for herself. Or Merlin help her, she would go mad.

So now, she was walking towards Ravenclaw table with Draco at her heels, following her like a bodyguard. She stopped once she reached her seat next to Sophie, she turned back to him.

"I will say this once and only once and I won't fight over this. I will go right ahead and hex you if you don't comply." He made to speak but Cecily didn't let him. "No, you won't talk. You will just listen. Now, go have dinner, then find your friends and spend the rest of the evening with them. And I will do the same. I don't want to see you until the sun rises again. Because you are suffocating me and I am about to lose my wits. Now go have dinner and don't bother me until the morning. Is that clear?"

Draco looked shaken. Why was she overreacting to him being protective of her? She was in a state in which she needed protection and it was his duty to keep her safe. But he was also tired of fighting all the time. The whole day, she had done nothing but protest against his precautions. And he was simply too tired to argue. "Fine, but on one condition."

"No conditions."

"I will take you to your dorm room and you will stay there with your friends for as long as you like. Nobody can get in there without your permission, you will be safe."

"I won't be squeezed into a dorm room for the whole night."

"Then no deal. I can't let you wander around the castle, Cecily."

"Fine! Fucking bloody fine! I will stay in my dorm room. Just shut the hell up and go away!"

Draco felt it sting to be dismissed by her. She was acting like a total pain in the arse. Why was she fighting against nature's way? She was his mate and needed his protection. And after the recent developments, he felt a strong urge to protect her. He didn't want to leave her alone for a minute, afraid something bad will happen and he won't be able to stop it. He knew he was being a little bit paranoid. But he couldn't fight his nature anymore. As a veela, he was bound to be around her and her safety was his responsibility. And as a Malfoy, she was his to care for and protect. She had to understand that. Until then, he had given her the space she valued dearly, and it ended up in a disaster. He wasn't taking his chances this time. Damn her and her tenacity, he was done being understanding. It was going to be his way or no way from now on.

After dinner, in the company of Draco, Cecily went back to her dorm room to wait for Sophie and Ginny. Sophie was supposed to pick up Ginny when she was finished with dinner and catch up with Cecily. She had been overly happy the whole day –much to Cecily's annoyance- and they clearly had so much to talk about. On the other hand, there was the awkward case of Blaise and Ginny to be solved so there was a lot to discuss. She smiled to herself as she realised the subjects she assumed were important were the least important matters of the last two days. However, talking about something light could lift her spirit.

Once they reached her dorm room, not letting her start speaking, Draco reached and held both her hands, pulling her towards him. Before she knew it he was kissing her with passion as if they hadn't seen each other for days. She was putty in his hands once more. What was it with him and his kisses?

But to Cecily's chagrin, the kiss didn't last for long. Draco let go of her hands but clasped his own around her hips, still trying to catch his breath. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Draco spoke to her softly.

"I am sorry I am overbearing you. But I can't just stop it. I'm worried about you. In fact, I will never stop worrying about you because it's in my nature. Please don't let this come between us, love. We've come a long way from the start and we have finally started to understand each other. I need your understanding now. Don't push me away because of this."

"I'm not pushing you away, Draco." Cecily said with a small smile, while placing a hand on his cheek. "I just need to talk to my friends. I need to see them, too, you know. I know this Finnigan business is bothering you but I will be fine. Just calm down a little bit."

"I can try but I won't promise. You need to understand it is a part of me. I can't just shut it off."

"Well, try then. We can't simply spend every waking our together."

"Unfortunately." He said with a disappointed voice. If he could manage, he would spend every single second of the remaining part of his life with her by his side.

"Yeah, well. It's harsh reality." Cecily chuckled a bit. He was definitely a spoiled, whiney, overgrown child.

"Can I come to your room tonight?" He blurted out. He had the most innocent expression on his face.

"I don't know. I, uh, I need to sleep, I couldn't get much last night." She managed to say shyly.

It was his time to chuckle. "Silly girl, I merely wanted to hold you as we slept. But of course I'm open to suggestions." He winked at her suggestively before pecking her on the lips.

Cecily flashed him a smile before resting her head on his shoulder, while holding him tighter. "I like you better when you are not a pain in the arse."

"And I love you even if you are a pain in the arse."

She pulled back and hit his chest playfully. "I am not a pain in the arse. You are annoying me."

"Well, as much as I enjoy annoying you, believe me, this time my aim here is just to ensure your safety." He said as he caught her hands and then kissed her knuckles one by one. When he was over adoring her hands he gave her an arrogant smile. "And you are a pain in the arse."

"Merlin, you are both a pain in the arse. Your sappiness is filling this place with so many butterflies and rainbows that it's getting me sick."

Didn't Blaise love showing up at the most inconvenient times. Both Cecily and Draco turned around to face him. He was standing in the entrance of the hall with his hands in his pockets, with a smirk on his face.

"Are you stalking us, Blaise? You pervert, it seems like every time we touch each other you come out of the corner to interrupt." Draco said half amused and half annoyed. His mood was improved now that he had a nice talk with Cecily.

"There really isn't much touching, then, I suppose." He let out a laughter.

Draco puffed with annoyance before turning back to Cecily. "Go on. Go inside. And don't open the door to anyone-"

"Of course, father, anything else?" Cecily mused.

"Arrogant prat." He gave her another kiss, this time longer than the previous. Blaise's grunting could have been heard in the air. When Draco let her go, she was out of breath. She stared at him for a second before going inside her room to leave Draco alone with Blaise.

"Good show, mate. Although, last night was a bigger show, as I heard. Too bad I missed it." Blaise chuckled while Draco was somewhere between annoyance and amusement.

"Jealous, Blaise?"

"Yes, I wish I was in Ravn's place so you could French kiss me in the hallway, too."

"Like you said, you wish, wanker."

"Anyway, want to go play quidditch? It's been ages since you were up on a broomstick."

"Why not? I'll go get changed then we are good to go." Draco said as he walked towards his room at the other end of the hallway. It really had been ages since he last played quidditch. The students who came back to finish their seventh year wasn't allowed in the teams and with everything with Cecily going on, he didn't have the chance. And how he missed being in the air, rushing towards the snitch, the adrenalin. Of course, flying with wings were much better but, he would have to settle for the broomstick for now. Still, he was happy he could, at last, play again.

* * *

Soon after Draco left her, Sophie and Ginny knocked on Cecily's door. She opened the door for them and could barely wait to speak until they were seated on her bed.

"So, what happened with Nott? Did you guys have a good nice talk?"

Sophie blushed just with the question. "Well, we didn't talk much. He was annoyed at you and Draco and kept talking about it the whole way down the Great Hall. But," She pulled her hands up, motioning as if something big was coming up. "Just as we were about to go inside, he stopped, and turned around, to me, looked at me, actually at my face and said 'You don't talk much, do you?' And his voice was so damn shaggable, I almost jumped him!"

"Wait, you and Nott? When did that happen?" Ginny asked, as she didn't know about the morning's events.

"Well, McGonagall asked me and Theodore to call Cecily and Draco and accompany them to her office. So we came here together to call them. We walked together! I was dizzy the whole time! And then we went to McGonagall's office. Then we were going to the Great Hall, but Cecily and Draco got in a fight. Then Theodore got angry at them. Then they got angry at Theodore. Then Theodore said he was going down there without Draco and Cecily. Then he turned to me and said 'You coming, shy girl?' He invited me! Then we went down to the Great Hall together. And then he-"

"Breathe Sophie. Breathe." Cecily reminded her friend. She really was going full retard when it came to Nott.

Sophie took a few deep breaths before she kept on going. "Where was I? Oh, yes, we were going to the Great Hall. And he told me 'You don't talk much, do you?' and I couldn't say anything at first. I just stared at him. And then he smiled, really smiled! That amazingly adorable smile!"

"First time someone calls Nott adorable but okay." Ginny murmured but Sophie was too busy reliving the moment to hear her.

"Then he told me 'You know I don't bite, right?' And boy, do I want to get bitten!"

"Merlin's fucking balls, calm your tits, girl." Another murmur by Ginny was gone unheard.

"… and his eyes were like the best colour of… Well, anyway, he told me he doesn't bite, isn't that cute? Then I actually pulled up the courage and told him that I knew that and that I was just naturally a silent type of person."

"Not so silent now, are you?" Cecily said, chuckling.

"Of course not! I could barely wait till now to tell you this! I actually said something to him! And… Here comes the best part. Are you ready?" She actually waited for their response. When Cecily and Ginny realised this, they simultaneously answered.

"Yes."

"Absolutely."

"He said I was the mysterious kind of girl AND that he likes that. He said he likes that! I am mysterious! And he likes it! He likes an aspect that belongs to me! Can you believe it?"

Sophie was looking at one then another expectantly with the biggest of smiles on her face. Her eyes were practically on fire as she stared at her friends. Again they answered simultaneously.

"Of course we believe it."

"Definitely believe it."

"Oh, I am so in love with him!" Sophie exclaimed as she sighed longingly. The other two girls chuckled to themselves as they watched Sophie stare at nothing in awe. It was like watching someone whose drink was spoiled with love potion. Except, there was no love potion. The madness was real.

"Did you talk about anything else?" Asked Ginny.

"No, we didn't." Sophie said, her smile faded in a second. "He just said that he likes the mystery thing and walked to the Slytherin table. But he has looked at me three times today." She said excitedly. "And caught me staring at him creepily three times, too." She added with less excitement. "But hey, he has looked at me, that's something, isn't it?" The two girls, again, assumed the question was hypothetical. But realised once more that it was a real question.

"Yes."

"It is something."

"He noticed you, Sophie. Maybe if you can actually manage to calm down a little bit, this can be something more. But you need to calm down, first. Because I have my wand ready to put you out as you are about to burst into flames." Ginny said while laughing before putting on a straight face. "Seriously, girl, calm the fuck down. You are becoming creepy."

"Becoming creepy?" Said Cecily. "So she wasn't being creepy for the last seven years? Especially when she almost memorised his bathroom schedule?"

"Hey, I didn't even try to memorise it. He just has a regular timing." Sophie argued.

"And people called me creepy for my crush on Harry." Ginny murmured to herself again. But Cecily heard her and remembered she was planning on cornering Ginny, too.

"So, let's get to you, now." Cecily turned to Sophie. "What is it with you and Blaise?"

Ginny's went through a million different expressions in one second before settling on the confused. "What do you mean?"

"You can't trick me, Gin. Spit it out. You know I wouldn't judge."

"There really isn't anything to spit out, Cecy. You're imagining things."

"The hell I am! You weren't in the infirmary for me, you were there for Blaise. Are you guys together or something?"

"No!" Ginny shouted a little too loud at first, then lowered her voice a bit. "No, we are not together. I don't know what you're talking about. I was looking for you."

"Uh, will someone explain what this is about?" Sophie asked, confused.

"Well, this morning, when we visited Blaise, Ginny came to the infirmary. Then when she saw Draco and me she went all awkward saying she was looking for me when nobody at the time even knew I was in there. Well, except you, Sophie, have you told her?"

"Nope." Sophie answered, amused.

"Well, then, back to you, Ginny. Spit it out." Both Sophie and Cecily was looking at Ginny expectantly. Ginny appeared to be calculating something as she was squinting while looking at the distance.

"Okay, fine. We are together. But it's been just a couple of weeks and we want to keep it silent until we know for sure that we are good together. It's so new right now and we are merely getting to know each other. I don't need Ron or worse Harry meddling in my business. And you know, they will meddle in. They simply hate Slytherins. Just pure hatred. And I don't want my chance to be happy to go down the drain just because my brother's an idiot. So we are keeping it a secret for now." Ginny explained rather calmly.

Cecily knew Ron had a short temper. But she also knew that he always came around. And about Harry, well, Cecily wasn't sure if he would want to interfere in this situation. That would be just plain awkward. Therefore, she decided Ginny was being overly cautious.

"Ginny, I think there's no reason for you to hide your relationship, at all. I honestly don't think Harry would step in. He is not your brother, he is your ex-boyfriend. So he doesn't get a say, really. Well, actually, your brother shouldn't get a say, too, but, this is Ron we are talking about. Now I don't know him as well as George but all Weasleys have a short temper that will cool down in a short period of time. Yes, maybe he will react badly at first, but after seeing how happy you are, he will understand." Cecily reasoned.

"But that's the point." Ginny argued. "I don't know if I'll be happy, yet. It's so new. I want to be sure before I walk into that shitstorm. I will tell people when the time comes."

"But you can always talk to us, Ginny. I know we've never been that close but I really understand how you feel." Sophie told Ginny, while patting her shoulder with her palm.

"I appreciate that. I would also appreciate it if you stopped patting me. I'm not actually that sad, you know. I'm just unsure."

"Yes, sorry." Sophie pulled her hand back. They spent the following hour discussing various subjects, all of which somehow connected to Theodore Nott. But throughout the conversation, Cecily realised something. Being away from Draco was perceivable. It was as if she wasn't alone but at the same time, a part of her felt so alone without his presence that nobody could fill that gap. She actually missed him. His annoying stubbornness, his overly protective behaviour, the sappy lines he would work in, she missed it all. So when the girls called it a night and went back to their own rooms, she changed into her sweatpants and a jumper and sat on the bed to wait for Draco to return.

Luckily for her, it didn't take long for Draco to come back. When he stepped inside her room, Cecily realised he had had a shower, as his hair was still wet. He had also changed into his sleep clothes and was carrying a set of Slytherin robes in his hands. At first, he didn't realise she was still awake, but with a second glance, he found her smiling at him like an idiot. He immediately smiled back.

"What makes you so happy, may I ask?" Draco said as he hung his clothes in Cecily's wardrobe as if it was his own. Cecily didn't know what bothered her more. The fact that he was making himself comfortable in her habitat or the fact that it didn't bother her at all.

"I don't know, I just am." Cecily lied. She knew very well that seeing him made her happy but for some reason didn't feel like saying it out loud. She didn't understand why she felt this way but, confessing this felt like surrendering to his dominant nature. She knew this wasn't a battle of wits but a part of her still wanted to keep it to herself. And she surrendered to that part instead.

"Interesting." He commented as he reached the bed, pulling Cecily up to get the both of them under the covers. "Could it be because I am here with you?" He added as he got her on the bed under the blankets, joining her right after.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? I'm just happy." Cecily lied again, but she was smiling now. He instantly gathered her in his arms as he lay on his back.

"Fine, don't say it." He said joining her with his own big smile. They laid there silently for a while before Cecily broke the silence.

"This feels nice." She said as she snuggled closer to him, burying her face in his neck.

"Yes, it does." Was the short answer she got from Draco. They remained silently until they both fell asleep. And both had the same idea on their heads when they were lost to sleep; both was grateful to have the other. And finally, their bond was now stronger than ever.


End file.
